Electric F150 Lightning EV to be revealed May 19

[cwoodcox]

The CCS system combines pins from old AC chargers plus a set of DC pins on the bottom. Which makes the whole thing rather clunky. AC charging should have never been a thing, because it requires every single car to carry around a rectifier to convert to DC. Plus it has 3 pins for 3-phase instead of 2 pins for DC. Why not just have the chargers convert to DC in the first place?

They do! When the charger is a charger, and not an EVSE. On-board chargers are a better idea, at least for now, than installing a DC charger in your house. AC charge points you install at your house aren’t chargers at all, they are fancy light switches that communicate to the car’s on-board charger how much power it can safely draw and then switch high-voltage AC without arcing.

This arrangement allows EVs to adapt to far more situations than “rich person that can afford to install their own charging infrastructure on property they own.” It’s great for encouraging adoption and better for the battery.

Sponsored

 

[Interferon]

They do! When the charger is a charger, and not an EVSE. On-board chargers are a better idea, at least for now, than installing a DC charger in your house. AC charge points you install at your house aren’t chargers at all, they are fancy light switches that communicate to the car’s on-board charger how much power it can safely draw and then switch high-voltage AC without arcing.

This arrangement allows EVs to adapt to far more situations than “rich person that can afford to install their own charging infrastructure on property they own.” It’s great for encouraging adoption and better for the battery.

I'm not saying to force home charger stations to be high power DC. I'm just saying to rectify it on the charging end so that you only need two power pins no matter what. You need to rectify it at some point, and it doesn't make it magically cheaper to do it in the car instead of on the wall. In fact, it would be cheaper to do it on the wall, because there are fewer chargers than cars.
By forcing the CCS plug to have all the extra pins, it makes life hell for all the future users for the next 40 years.

 

[aw113sgte]

I'm not saying to force home charger stations to be high power DC. I'm just saying to rectify it on the charging end so that you only need two power pins no matter what. You need to rectify it at some point, and it doesn't make it magically cheaper to do it in the car instead of on the wall. In fact, it would be cheaper to do it on the wall, because there are fewer chargers than cars.
By forcing the CCS plug to have all the extra pins, it makes life hell for all the future users for the next 40 years.

I don't like this method because I want flexibility. I want to be able to pull power from a 120v or 240v wall outlet.

 

[Riviot]

In fact, it would be cheaper to do it on the wall, because there are fewer chargers than cars.

Basic logic tells me otherwise...
Big assumption here but, don't most EV owners have a charger at home? Even those in condos/apartments/not-their-house-garage probably have something at their building. So you start with at least an equal number of EVs to chargers.
Add to that all the public charging infrastructure; EA, ChargePoint, Tesla, joe schmoe's coffee hut, 'Murican Power Co parking lot... That must be in the tens of thousands added on.

As others say, your "charger" is simply a cord plugging you in with the vehicle converting as needed. This probably increases adoption, not hinders, as all a location need do is give you power, not provide converters for each vehicle.

 

[cwoodcox]

I'm not saying to force home charger stations to be high power DC. I'm just saying to rectify it on the charging end so that you only need two power pins no matter what. You need to rectify it at some point, and it doesn't make it magically cheaper to do it in the car instead of on the wall. In fact, it would be cheaper to do it on the wall, because there are fewer chargers than cars.
By forcing the CCS plug to have all the extra pins, it makes life hell for all the future users for the next 40 years.

it would also require running 400V DC through wires that aren’t permanently mounted somewhere… if you didn’t have AC input on the car you’d never be able to use a travel charger-like accessory to obtain any meaningful power levels for charging. Sure, you could permanently install a wall charger for DC charging at the same power levels as current AC charging, but that’s still not feasible for everyone.

 

[Canthoney]

Kind of ironic if we find out more about the F-150 EV on May 19th than the R1T which is supposed to launch in 1 month

 

[DucRider]

Kind of ironic if we find out more about the F-150 EV on May 19th than the R1T which is supposed to launch in 1 month

There has been no indication at all that Ford will reveal any significant details at all, let alone more than we know about the Rivian. It will be a typical reveal with a prototype and estimated/targeted specs (subject to change).

 

[kylealden]

CCS has taken on being the new standard it seems for every maker except Tesla in the US.

At this point I'm more interested in zero-touch payment interop than actual charger deployments. It seems clear that the network will grow extremely quickly in the next few years; I don't want to have to juggle eleven different apps with different fees and checkout processes that kinda sorta sometimes work. It should be plug and play.

 

[Canthoney]

There has been no indication at all that Ford will reveal any significant details at all, let alone more than we know about the Rivian. It will be a typical reveal with a prototype and estimated/targeted specs (subject to change).

We’ll see, but I bet we will know enough. It could be a reveal like the Mach-E or Hummer EV and they will start taking reservations immediately for next year, but I’m curious to see what they come up with

 

[LoneStar]

I am expecting a fairly insightful reveal akin to the recent 14th gen release of F-150 truck. That was a big affair with lots of insight on specs, models, engines, hybrid, OTA updating, ProPower Onboard, etc. Or it could be a more muted affair like Ford did on the new Bronco. That was all PR jazz and hardly any 'beef' to enjoy.

 

[electrictaco]

Unfortunately, CCS won. I really wish Tesla had opened up their design to everyone from the beginning, because it is technically superior.
The CCS system combines pins from old AC chargers plus a set of DC pins on the bottom. Which makes the whole thing rather clunky. AC charging should have never been a thing, because it requires every single car to carry around a rectifier to convert to DC. Plus it has 3 pins for 3-phase instead of 2 pins for DC. Why not just have the chargers convert to DC in the first place?

Tesla's connector is far from technically superior. By some estimates, it may max out at around 300kW because of limitations with its contacts (pins in the connector). CCS1 can go to a theoretical maximum of 500kW with a 1000V vehicle and 500A cable. The new Megawatt Charging Standard developed by the same consortium that designed CCS will push the limits of charging to the 1-2 MW range... and Tesla is joining that Standard.

Why is AC charging a thing? Because it's way cheaper to put a small onboard charger than to make costly investment in a low power DC charger at every parking spot. Just use grid power and make the car do the work.

 

[DaveA]

Any guess as to what an elecrified F-150 is going to cost? A new hybrid Lariat F-150 crewcab is $70-75K from a quick check on Autotrader. I suspect this is going to run pretty steep. Even at the same price point as a Rivian loaded, probably still take Rivian due to being slightly more maneuverable off-road and will definitely be more unique.

 

[DucRider]

Even at the same price point as a Rivian loaded, probably still take Rivian due to being slightly more maneuverable off-road and will definitely be more unique.

And the RAN becomes a big selling point as well

 

[LoneStar]

From the overwhelmingly positive press, seems like Ford did a good job on the Mach-E (no, as a former Mustang GT owner - not calling it a Mustang, honestly I think just calling it the Mach-E would have been a smarter move)

The range is where it often exceeds the rated mileage. And Scotty's tear-down comments were pleasant to watch as he kept saying things like, "I can't believe this is a Ford!"

 

[SeaGeo]

Any guess as to what an elecrified F-150 is going to cost? A new hybrid Lariat F-150 crewcab is $70-75K from a quick check on Autotrader. I suspect this is going to run pretty steep. Even at the same price point as a Rivian loaded, probably still take Rivian due to being slightly more maneuverable off-road and will definitely be more unique.

You know, I had assumed that the hummer would try to compete with the cybertruck. I was obviously wrong. So I'm not even guessing as to the F-150 cost in my head. It'll be interesting to see what strategy they take, and I'm curious if we find out any useful info about pack design and charging since that's where the Mach-e seems to struggle.

All other things being equal, if it's the same size as a current gen f-150, my preference is to the Rivian as I would rather a midsized truck personally.

Sponsored