Ford Confirms F-Series Hybrid Bound for Dearborn, Celebrates Rouge's 100th Birthday
Ford confirmed the assembly locale of its F-150 Hybrid this week, saying the electrified pickup would not stray from its aluminum-bodied brethren. The hybridized F-Series will, unsurprisingly, go into production at the Rouge’s Dearborn Truck Plant in 2020, with additional (non-hybrid) production handled by Ford’s Kansas City Assembly.
The automaker made the announcement as part of its 100th anniversary celebration of the River Rouge Complex. While that left the F-150 proclamation a little light on details, Ford previously said the model would probably not be a plug-in hybrid, but would boast outlets for electrically powered tools/devices — functioning as a mobile generator. However, the announcement itself focused primarily on celebrating the Rouge’s centennial.
“Just as the Rouge has been a harbinger of progress for a century, Ford is committed to ensuring our trucks continue to power the world in a sustainable way — whether they are powered by EcoBoost engines, hybrid powertrains, or are fully electric,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company.
Ford also said it will launch a volunteer program with Friends of the Rouge, a local NGO that cleans up and preserves the Rouge River. Paid volunteers will work with the group to clean up litter, clear vegetation, and participate in hikes to learn more about area’s history, according to the automaker.
The F-150 Hybrid’s launch is likely to coincide with that of the fully electric performance crossover with a potentially inappropriate name and a hybridized Mustang, all of which are slated for a 2020 launch. There are also some loose rumors that the company will bring in a second electrified police vehicle to complement its Police Responder Hybrid Sedan that year. All told, Ford is investing $4.5 billion over the next five years to produce 13 hybrid or fully electric vehicles.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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A hybrid F-150 is intriguing. While I'm most interested in green cars, I've owned several pickup trucks over the years. A 5-seat tow vehicle would be nice, and a hybrid drivetrain would fix most of the driavability annoyances that plagued the last two Fords I've owned (and an Escape V6 and a 4.3L F-150, both from MY2004). I became irritated with the driving experience in both vehicles. At the time, Ford was trying too hard to butch it up to match their marketing, and they succeeded -- to the detriment of both vehicles. The recipe was a coarse and unrefined family car, while the F-150 applied an awful lot of sound and fury under the hood just to move it's overweight self down a suburban street. Hybrids are much smoother and quieter, and they save gas too!
Funny how a hybrid pickup comes along and there are no comments in the article or by readers about: - excessive payback times, - expensive battery replacement, - virtue signalling, - lithium shortages, - rare metal mining pollution, - rare metal mining human rights abuses, - poor highway mileage, - toxic waste of old batteries, - diesels get mileage just as good. Did I miss any of the classic hybrid myths?