Has anyone given thought to this monumental change that’s about to occur? In less than 2 years…

[Joe B.]

I have to wonder about the Ford Lightning commercials that show the truck powering the house during an outage. What happens if the power is still out when the battery dies?

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[dx2]

https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/

says it lasts up to three days (or 10 days with economic use)
Are three day outages actually happening ?

 

[GT Pony]

I have to wonder about the Ford Lightning commercials that show the truck powering the house during an outage. What happens if the power is still out when the battery dies?

Then you get out your gas powered generator.

 

[sk47]

RG&E attributes customers large utility bills to worker shortages and higher energy costs (msn.com)

“In addition to worker shortages, VanBrooker says customers are experiencing the impact of overall higher energy costs. She adds, “We have to purchase the gas and electricity and we only pass on the cost that we have to pay to customers.””



‘In early February RG&E customers began contacting us about extraordinarily high bills some that were thousands of dollars.”



Hello; Not enough information for me to make many comments. Does anyone know more about this. An electric bill in the “thousands of dollars” caught attention.

 

[FreePenguin]

my rates tripled across the board for me. so if people have higher 400 dollar bills, I could see hitting 1000

 

[sk47]

GM reportedly stops providing battery pack replacements for the Chevy Spark EV (msn.com)

Hello; Well, this is an interesting development. Before someone writes that manufacturers always eventually stop making parts for older models, let me acknowledge that to be true. This is why having an older car can be a search for parts problem. Some old cars are popular enough to have aftermarket companies make parts. The tri-five Chevys and some older Mustangs for example.
The question will be is the Spark EV going to have an aftermarket battery pack from someone???

 

[Strokerswild]

The question will be is the Spark EV going to have an aftermarket battery pack from someone???

More than likely there will be. I think that will become an industry over time.

A coworker just put his '05 Prius to pasture. Until recently it was completely trouble free with over 250K miles until the battery pack developed a fault. IIRC, he could have bought a remanufactured pack for it for around $1500, but considering the mileage on the car he sold it as is. Of course, no inkling if that reman battery pack would be as robust as the original....

 

[Bobn57]

I have to wonder about the Ford Lightning commercials that show the truck powering the house during an outage. What happens if the power is still out when the battery dies?

you'll need to start up that gas generator

 

[sk47]

More than likely there will be. I think that will become an industry over time.

A coworker just put his '05 Prius to pasture. Until recently it was completely trouble free with over 250K miles until the battery pack developed a fault. IIRC, he could have bought a remanufactured pack for it for around $1500, but considering the mileage on the car he sold it as is. Of course, no inkling if that reman battery pack would be as robust as the original....

Hello; You hit upon a key point. I avoid cars with timing belts which have to be changed every 90,000 miles or so or with time. A friend had a Honda Civic and he had to have the belt changed even with much less miles because of time. It was a $350 job back in the 90's.
My second wife took an 85 Civic in the divorce with about 70,000 miles. When the papers were signed I stopped making payments and the divorce lawyer did the title transfer to her. I told her about the belt and she, as was the usual, ignored me. A couple of years later I get a call about the engine going out. It was no longer my problem.

I get from your story that an older Prius can be in decent shape otherwise but not worth the cost of a battery pack replacement. I have a 2001 Nissan Sentra I bought new. It is an ICE. I am a decent mechanic so have kept it in good shape. Now over twenty years old and still running fine. No major scheduled repairs or things such as a battery pack to replace. I did have an anti-theft system failure be the only time the car ever failed to star. I made a link about that event on this site. Do i normally get over 20 years out of a vehicle? Not often, but I have a 2004 pickup still going strong.

Let me add a wrinkle I know of. It is not just older battery packs but also some other older tech. A neighbor attending the local college has an early Ford hybrid SUV. Seems it has a regenerative braking problem. She told me there are no parts available to fix that part of hew her older vehicle. She still can drive it but the hybrid part which recharges when braking does not work any more.

The last year or so I have been looking at older vehicles with less modern tech. I wonder if some time a vehicle in good mechanical shape will be unrepairable due to some tech components. I would like to be able to buy a vehicle (ICE) in which the only thing run by a computer is the fuel injection and maybe the timing.

 

[Bobn57]

Looks like V8s will be around for a while!
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-manifold/2022-04-26/

 

[Bikeman315]

Looks like V8s will be around for a while!
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-manifold/2022-04-26/

Yeah, in trucks. They will be long gone in cars and SUV’s.

 

[Bobn57]

Yeah, in trucks. They will be long gone in cars and SUV’s.

That's what i thought but article says.....

Heavy-duty trucks will be the longest V-8 hold-outs, since they are exempted from the federal Canadian government’s mandate that all new car and light truck sales be electric by 2035. Until then, however, D’Agnolo reports that Ford’s bottom line is too dependent on profits from trucks, which he calls its “bread and butter,” and from the Mustang, both of which rely heavily (though not exclusively) on V-8 engines.

 

[Bikeman315]

That's what i thought but article says.....

Heavy-duty trucks will be the longest V-8 hold-outs, since they are exempted from the federal Canadian government’s mandate that all new car and light truck sales be electric by 2035. Until then, however, D’Agnolo reports that Ford’s bottom line is too dependent on profits from trucks, which he calls its “bread and butter,” and from the Mustang, both of which rely heavily (though not exclusively) on V-8 engines.

That’s a union guy talking, not Ford itself. Really would not but too much stock in what he is saying. But, Lordy, I hope I’m wrong.

 

[Bikeman315]

By the way just saw this. So a V8 in the S750 could be iffy.

https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/the-v8-s650-and-beyond.156160/

 

[Bobn57]

That’s a union guy talking, not Ford itself. Really would not but too much stock in what he is saying. But, Lordy, I hope I’m wrong.

we can hope... the technology used for the current ecoboost 4 banger is impressive. It has more power than many 60's and 70's muscle cars. Even more than my last GT which was a 4.6L V8....but they just don't sound or have the same feel as a V8, especially a Coyote.

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