In recent Ford fashion (when it comes to EVs at least), the American automaker has once again underpromised and overdelivered. Its latest cheeky announcement came in the form of a tweet from Ford CEO Jim Farley, who just admitted the F-150 Lightning with an extended-range battery can travel 0-60 mph in under four seconds. A huge improvement from previously shared acceleration times and a hint that Ford may have originally been conservative about its pickup’s performance.
Ford Motor Company continues to bolster its EV production infrastructure to try and meet the tremendous demand for the F-150 Lightning pickup, which remains sold out for the next couple of years.
Following its original announcement, Ford enlightened the public with performance specs and available features to be expected when the F-150 Lightning inevitably arrives. What’s unique about Ford’s announcements compared to other automakers is that, instead of backtracking on certain performance provisions, Ford has come out multiple times and exceeded what was originally promised.
For instance, before the F-150 Lightning reached customers this past May, Ford was promising an estimated 300 miles of range with the extended battery pack. However, when its official EPA range came in, it was 20 miles better – welcomed news for reservation holders.
Just before deliveries began, Ford emerged with more good news for its customers, revealing that the F-150 Lightning would arrive with more horsepower and higher payload capacity than originally promised. Furthermore, new cloud software could more accurately estimate the truck’s range while towing in real time. Unlike the news above, these higher specs applied to both battery options.
Now, as the F-150 Lightning continues to reach customers in all fifty states, Ford has shared an additional update that applies to the extended-range versions of the trucks, delivering better acceleration than originally promised.
Ford F-150 Lightning acceleration boosted to under 4 seconds
Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the revised acceleration time via the Tweet seen above, complete with a short clip of an F-150 Lightning zooming by. According to the CEO, the 0-60 acceleration time of the Lightning is now under four seconds – that is, for Ford pickups equipped with the extended-range battery pack.
Previously, Ford has touted the acceleration of its first all-electric pickup at around 4.5 seconds to go from 0-60 mph. A spokesperson for the automaker told Electrek that those previous specs were merely the targeted numbers.
Today’s announcement from Farley marks the official acceleration of the F-150 Lightning, over 0.5 seconds quicker. Again, more welcomed news for those thousands upon thousands of consumers awaiting their very own pickup.
One could argue that Ford was already aware of this better than previously shared acceleration and sandbagged it down before offering a boastful reveal like Farley’s Tweet today. Whether it was strategic or not, it’s good news.
While it once again shows that Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup continues to exceed expectations in its infancy, positive updates like these help the automaker stay on the top of consumer’s minds while giving the vast list of reservation holders a little nibble of good news while they await their deliveries – a savvy move from a legacy automaker.
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The UAW union’s Stellantis Council met yesterday to discuss the beleaguered carmaker’s “ongoing failure” to honor the agreement that ended the 2023 labor strike, and their latest union memo doesn’t pull many punches.
In an email sent out by the UAW earlier today (received at 4:55PM CST), UAW President Shawn Fain wrote, “For years, the company picked us off plant-by-plant and we lacked the will and the means to fight back. Today is different. Because we stood together and demanded the right to strike over job security—product commitment—we have the tools to fight back and win … We unanimously recommend to the membership that every UAW worker at Stellantis prepare for a fight, and we all get ready to vote YES to authorize a strike at Stellantis.”
Kia promises the new EV9 GT will have “enormous power,” but that’s not all. For the first time, the Kia EV9 GT was caught with an active spoiler, giving us a sneak peek at potential new upgrades.
The brand’s first three-row electric SUV is already making its presence known in the US, helping push Kia to back-to-back record sales months. Meanwhile, a more powerful, sporty variant is on the way.
Kia confirmed the EV9 GT will top off the electric SUV’s lineup in April. Packing “enormous power,” the high-performance GT model can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 4 secs.
With a “high-output” dual-motor (AWD) system, the EV9 GT can quickly pick up speed despite weighing over 5,000 lbs.
Kia also equipped it with other high-performance features, such as a reinforced suspension and electronic braking system, for better control and stability.
We’ve already caught a glimpse of the performance electric SUV out testing, revealing aggressive new bumpers and wheels. Now, a new design feature has been spotted.
Kia EV9 GT could come with an active rear spoiler
The latest video from HealerTV shows the EV9 GT with what appears to be an active spoiler. As the reporter noted, it could be similar to the one spotted on the Genesis GV70 Magma.
Tesla’s Model X also used to come with an active spoiler until it was dropped a few years back. Although the GT model was spotted with one, Kia could just be testing new features, so don’t get too excited yet.
Earlier this week, a video from HealerTV showed the front row of the EV9 GT, comparing it to the current GT-Line model.
Several differences can be immediately noticed, including a more aggressive, all-black design with a yellow stripe down the center of the seat.
Kia is set to launch the EV9 GT in early 2025. It will rival other performance SUVs like the Tesla Model X Plaid.
Although prices have yet to be confirmed, the GT model is expected to sit above the current GT-Line at $73,900. In comparison, Tesla’s Model X Plaid starts at $94,990 and can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 secs.
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Consumer Reports and EV charging app Chargeway are working together to give drivers a better way to rate public chargers, report uptime, and address maintenance issues.
The technical collaboration with Chargeway is part of a larger effort called the EV Charging Community, which engages with a number of different EV advocacy groups including Plug In America, GreenLatinos, and Generation 180, and leverages the mobile app to rate public EV charging experiences based on various factors, with the findings reported back to industry stakeholders like EVSE manufacturers, CPOs, and utilities.
Be heard
“We are very excited to be partnering with Consumer Reports,” says Chargeway founder, Matt Teske. “From day one, Chargeway has focused on a driver first app design to provide easier EV charging experiences as well as transparency for what drivers can anticipate at (the) station they choose … we share Consumer Reports’ goal to give drivers a voice in the public EV charging reliability conversation. Now, instead of posting complaints on social media and feeling ignored, EV drivers can use the Chargeway mobile app to provide their feedback to the leading consumer advocacy organization.”
Consumer Reports says it’s already seen nearly a third of its 1,600 enrolled community members experience a problem with public charging, so it’s a real problem. “Charging stations are critical services, but when they’re out of order or barely functional, it wastes consumers’ valuable time,” explains Drew Toher, Consumer Reports’ sustainability campaign manager.
Consumer Reports points out that EV drivers who don’t use Chargeway can also enroll to be part of the community at this link.
Electrek’s Take
Chargeway founder Matt Teske is an old friend. He’s a good friend, too, so it’s great to see his top-shelf EV charging app starting to get some of the recognition it deserves. The CR tie-up and added visibility these ratings will give to industry stakeholders are only going to make things better for EV drivers everywhere.
That up there? That’s one of my early interview episodes of Quick Charge featuring a walkthrough of Chargeway+, another collab between Matt and Austin Energy. Enjoy!
SOURCE | IMAGES: Chargeway, Consumer Reports.
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