Ford EV Street Journeys: Can “Go Wherever, Do Something”

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Ford’s acquired an attention-grabbing method this yr of highlighting prospects tales with the intention to promote its electrical autos. I assume the corporate discovered that what potential consumers want greater than the rest is proof from different people that electrical autos work for them. Spec sheets, kilowatts and kilowatt-hours, 0–60 mph instances — that’s not getting via to regular mainstream consumers Ford wants to attach with. Nonetheless, buyer testimonials do.

Drive High quality Is Simply Higher

That is the factor that sells electrical autos maybe greater than the rest — electrical autos simply really feel nicer to drive. And that was the case for Robert Hayes. “After years as a Ford engineer, engaged on every thing from local weather management programs to powertrain technique, a benchmarking drive in an electrical automobile sparked an sudden ardour in Hayes. The silent energy, the moment torque — it was a revelation.” We’ve all been there, proper? The primary drive in an EV is a revelation.

After this expertise, Hayes didn’t want any convincing. He was one of many first to purchase a Ford Mustang Mach-E, receiving his automobile in 2021. And Robert actually meant to drive the factor!

“Individuals say, ‘an electrical automobile simply wouldn’t work for me’ — I’m right here to show them mistaken,” Robert famous.

Racking Up The Miles — Ford Mustang Mach-E Street Journey

In about three years, Robert reached a whopping 70,000 miles on his Mustang Mach-E. “These weren’t simply leisurely drives, although Hayes made positive to squeeze in journeys to loads of nationwide parks; they have been rigorous checks, pushing the boundaries of his automobile and his personal understanding of the broader electrical automobile panorama — all on his private time, earlier than Hayes had even joined Ford’s Mannequin e staff.” (Ford’s Mannequin e staff is mainly the corporate’s inner EV startup.)

Robert additionally highlights one thing that isn’t mentioned sufficient — exploring new charging stations is usually a enjoyable expertise! We are likely to focus a lot on any challenges with charging, or just on stating how simple it may be, that we regularly overlook to notice that it’s enjoyable and thrilling discovering new stations, and probably speaking to others at these places.

“Mapping out chargers and routes was all the time a enjoyable sport for me,” mentioned Robert. “That sport has clearly been made fairly a bit simpler with the BlueOval Cost Community doing a lot of the work for me, however no much less satisfying.

“I like to go to quite a lot of chargers on my journeys — every thing from a free Degree 2 charger at a neighborhood grocery retailer to new Tesla Supercharger places to actually get a good suggestion of the charging panorama as we speak.”

Robert additionally extra just lately purchased a Ford F-150 Lightning. I’m positive he’s loved that he can do much more with the Lightning than the Mach-E, due to the vehicle-to-load functionality, pickup mattress, and so forth.

Listed here are routes he has pushed in his Ford Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning:

“I’ve achieved every thing from cross-country highway journeys to metropolis driving to an 1800-mile loop north of the Arctic Circle in an electrical automobile. When individuals are skeptical, I can converse from private expertise,” Robert notes.

Working to Make Charging Even Higher & Simpler

His expertise with EV life and keenness for it — in addition to broader ardour for brand new cleantech, together with putting in photo voltaic panels and changing his furnace with a warmth pump — led to Robert getting a brand new position at Ford serving to to enhance the charging expertise. You may be taught a bit extra about that on the Ford web site for those who’re curious.

Principally, although, that is Robert’s motto: “I don’t need anybody to say that there’s a restrict to what they will do with their electrical automobile. These are go anyplace, do something autos, so my mission is to share that feeling with our prospects.”