No one at Ford, Drives a Ford EV?

[SabrToothSqrl]

So, if I'm reading this correctly, it took the CEO to 'find the time' to actually drive a Ford EV, on a longer drive, needing a charge?

Ford CEO Calls Charging Issues A ‘Reality Check’ During F-150 Lightning Road Trip

Jim Farley hit the road in an electric vehicle, and charging it has been a bit of an issue.

jalopnik.com

It's... fascinating how, up until this point, no one from Ford had bothered?

 

[Watts_Up]

So, if I'm reading this correctly, it took the CEO to 'find the time' to actually drive a Ford EV, on a longer drive, needing a charge?

It's... fascinating how, up until this point, no one from Ford had bothered?

In general, executives use LearJets to travel...

 

[paratrooper]

In general, executives use LearJets to travel...

Plus Car service

 

[ThomasD]

Most of the Employees can't afford the vehicles. The average new car payment is over 700 dollars a month.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

While some of that may be true, you're telling me, that during the inception, creation, and ultimately production of electric Ford vehicles, no one thought to ohh, I don't know... DRIVE it somewhere? People who are PAID by Ford, to drive/test/build/design these vehicles?

Or did a 100 year old company never bother, because they never bothered with their gas cars?

 

[E90alex]

There’s a difference between product testing and real world customer experience.

No, the CEO usually doesn’t have time to take 1000 mile road trips in all their preproduction vehicles. Even the development team doesn’t really do that. They usually have their own proving grounds for testing and don’t drive preproduction prototypes on public roads for extensive periods for various reasons. If they need to do extreme weather testing (eg in Death Valley) they typically truck the cars over instead of drive them all the way across the country.

The job of pre-production testing is to test the vehicle components to make sure the actual car itself works. It’s not for testing how well built out and how reliable third party charging networks are. That doesn’t really have anything to do with the car itself and is not really a deficiency of the vehicle or automaker. It’s a problem with the charging networks which Ford doesn’t own or control.

Although as these other automakers are finding out, charging networks are a critical part of the customer ownership experience and it doesn’t matter how good the car is if people can’t charge it.

 

[Watts_Up]

In general, executives use LearJets to travel...

This remind me the following story:

Detroit CEOs fly private jets to Capitol Hill beg-fest - Autoblog

Earth to the not-exactly-Big 3 CEOs: When you fly to Washington to beg for an industry bailout, do yourselves a favor and leave the corporate jet at home. ABC News has thrown Rick Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Bob Nardelli directly under the bus, reporting that each exercised costly private jet...

www.autoblog.com

​

ABC News has thrown Rick Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Bob Nardelli directly under the bus, ​

reporting that each exercised costly private jet perks for their joint appearance before Congress​

instead of setting an example by flying commercial.​

Burned over corporate jet trips, GM’s CEO gets taste of the road

SOMERSET, Pa. – The head of the nation’s largest automaker took perhaps the most important car ride of his life Wednesday, traveling 500 miles, mostly over highway through four states, to Washington, D.C., where he will ask Congress for a second time to save his slumping company. Two weeks ago...

www.spokesman.com

​

All three CEOs made the trip to Washington in high-mileage hybrid vehicles – ​

the types of cars critics say the Detroit Three should have been making more of ​

instead of becoming enamored of higher-profit, less fuel-efficient vehicles like SUVs and Hummers.​

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[E90alex]

Also they were probably well aware of deficiencies in charge networks well before now, but this is essentially a viral marketing campaign.

Look at us, we listen to customers as a company to try and improve our products. Look at our CEO, he is down to earth and personable and out in public with real people and not just sitting locked away in an office collecting billions. Look at our electric truck, it’s great but thanks to our partnership with Tesla it will soon be even better!

 

[alexgr]

While some of that may be true, you're telling me, that during the inception, creation, and ultimately production of electric Ford vehicles, no one thought to ohh, I don't know... DRIVE it somewhere? People who are PAID by Ford, to drive/test/build/design these vehicles?

Or did a 100 year old company never bother, because they never bothered with their gas cars?

It was clearly a PR action. Also, I believe car manufacturers, and especially Ford and GM, don't care about pesky customers. They only see the problem when for some mystical reason, and extremely rarely, the executive bonuses are getting cut.

 

[DblOSmith]

No, the CEO usually doesn’t have time to take 1000 mile road trips in all their preproduction vehicles. Even the development team doesn’t really do that. They usually have their own proving grounds for testing and don’t drive preproduction prototypes on public roads for extensive periods for various reasons. If they need to do extreme weather testing (eg in Death Valley) they typically truck the cars over instead of drive them all the way across the country.

Maybe not in "all their preproduction" vehicles, especially if it's GM coming out with 50 models by 2030 or whatever. ...but how about their one Halo vehicle? Take a vehicle home and let you and the family use it as you would any other car. You know they have a Mercedes SL or something in their garage. I couldn't imagine being an executive of any company (especially at a make or break transition time for the company) and not using that company's products.

 

[hey kupo]

Sounds like he confirmed this man's recent experience:

Man forced to ditch Ford EV truck during family road trip to Chicago: ‘biggest scam of modern times’

A Canadian man is sharing his frustrating experience – and the expenses incurred – after he purchased a Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck earlier this year.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[KJD]

While some of that may be true, you're telling me, that during the inception, creation, and ultimately production of electric Ford vehicles, no one thought to ohh, I don't know... DRIVE it somewhere? People who are PAID by Ford, to drive/test/build/design these vehicles?

Or did a 100 year old company never bother, because they never bothered with their gas cars?

Do you think that anyone at GM has done a road trip in an EV ?

For that matter has any executive at any traditional auto company done a road trip in an EV ? I really doubt it.

You can criticize Ford and Jim Farley all you want, but I would compliment him on being the first to see there is a problem and take bold steps to fix it. Long term Ford cutting a deal with Tesla for supercharger access just might be what saves the company.

 

[Yelobird]

Do you think that anyone at GM has done a road trip in an EV ?

For that matter has any executive at any traditional auto company done a road trip in an EV ? I really doubt it.

You can criticize Ford and Jim Farley all you want, but I would compliment him on being the first to see there is a problem and take bold steps to fix it. Long term Ford cutting a deal with Tesla for supercharger access just might be what saves the company.

Fully agree. Jim Farley is by far one of the best leaders to step into the legacy role and be willing to acknowledge the deficiencies and road blocks the company faces now and in the future. His actions will be what carry Ford through the mine field.