A Conversation with Jim Farley: The Future of Electric Trucks

The recent episode of Jay Leno's Garage featured an exclusive conversation with Jim Farley, the President and CEO of Ford Motor Company. During the discussion, Farley shared his insights on the company's new all-electric truck, the F-150 Lightning. This is a significant development in the automotive industry, as it marks a major shift towards sustainable energy solutions.

The conversation began with Jay Leno congratulating Farley on the success of the F-150 Lightning. Farley acknowledged that selling electric vehicles can be challenging, especially to those who are hesitant to adopt new technology. However, he emphasized that Ford has a unique advantage in this regard, thanks to its extensive experience in the truck market. With over four decades of sales data, Ford has a deep understanding of what truck owners want and need. This expertise played a crucial role in shaping the F-150 Lightning's features and capabilities.

One of the key challenges Farley faced was convincing his team that they needed to invest in an electric propulsion system for the F-150. He recalled that there was "an invisible line" beyond which they couldn't go without risking alienating their customers. To overcome this, Ford had to balance the needs of its most conservative truck owners with the demands of those who wanted advanced technology. Farley acknowledged that it wasn't easy, but ultimately, the team's efforts paid off.

When asked about the key features of the F-150 Lightning, Farley highlighted three standout aspects. First and foremost, he emphasized the vehicle's impressive capabilities, which rival those of its gasoline-powered counterparts. The truck can tow, payload, and perform with ease, making it an ideal choice for both personal use and heavy-duty applications. Second, Farley stressed the importance of energy independence, citing the ability to power homes or job sites as a major selling point. This feature has captured the imagination of many potential buyers, who value the flexibility and convenience it offers. Finally, he mentioned the F-150 Lightning's innovative Frunk (front trunk) storage system, which is both functional and practical.

Farley also touched on the technical challenges involved in developing an electric truck from scratch. He noted that the team had to overcome numerous hurdles, including designing a unique independent rear suspension system. This was a significant investment, but one that paid off with the creation of a vehicle that is not only environmentally friendly but also remarkably comfortable and quiet.

The conversation also took a humorous turn when Jay Leno jokingly referred to himself as a "car guy" rather than a "truck guy." Farley laughed and agreed, stating that the F-150 Lightning has changed his perspective on this issue. The truck's impressive performance and capabilities have earned him a new title: "truck guy."

As the conversation drew to a close, Jay Leno thanked Jim Farley for joining him on the show and expressed his enthusiasm for the F-150 Lightning. Farley reciprocated the sentiment, praising Jay's dedication to showcasing innovative vehicles like the F-150 Lightning. The episode concluded with a promise from Ford to continue pushing the boundaries of electric vehicle technology, citing the need for more sustainable energy solutions in the face of climate change.

In conclusion, the conversation between Jay Leno and Jim Farley provided valuable insights into the development and marketing of the F-150 Lightning. By sharing his expertise and passion for electric vehicles, Farley helped to demystify the technology and showcase its many benefits. As the automotive industry continues to evolve, this episode serves as a reminder of the importance of innovation and sustainability in shaping our transportation future.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to a special mini edition of jay leno's garage i'm going to talk with jim farley president and ceo of ford motor company about the new f-150 lightning this is the all-electric truck you can power your home well it's unbelievable this is going to be fun well congratulations on the success thank you jay the lightning how hard was this to sell to what they used to call the bean counters i mean people hey look we make a million of these a year with a gasoline engine that's doing fine yes and then you come in hey why don't we make it electric don't i mean how was that a hard yes it was actually uh in fact the first capacity proposal for the f-150 lightning is now at 150 000 units a year was 20. and they're like i was like well why 120 isn't tested building a factory in austin texas and we're gonna have 20 000 and they're like well we won't make much money on them so we don't want to sell too many i was like no that that's not how we need to approach it you guys we have to we're changing the company so you know we have to build up the scale we have to build an image and we need to make it affordable that that was the big tension point is 39 000 right now in defense of them i would say uh i'm playing the other side now well truckers are very conservative they don't like anything different and they're correct correct so it was was it tricky to come up with that just go up to the edge and not and not go over it yeah it was you know i i think ford has such experience with truck owners we've been the best-selling truck and vehicle for four decades that we you know we use that experience and it helped us a lot but yes there is an invisible line we were arguing about this truck more than almost any vehicle i've seen in my career i can remember when you went from steel to aluminum yes aluminum i mean that was like i mean lighter just as strong fuel economy is better but that was a hard sell too yeah i think truck customers are very reasoned people like they're like oh i can get better fuel economy i can tow more i can pay the same thing you know they same with ecoboost everyone's like well we have to sell v8s we can never sell a twin turbocharged v6 and compete with a v8 that was wrong because got better fuel economy better towing like you said they they want the functionality yeah and like i always say if a new technology succeed it can't be equal it's got to be better correct it's got to be better in every respect when the wankle came out oh it was lighter but it used more fuel and it drank oil so right away you're going to sell a few to engineers and people like yes but to most people why would i want that and you have to time it right too you you can't be so advanced that most mainstream customers go that's too far for me right right so what are your three top features if you were selling this to someone in in a minute and a half the three top features would be what i think the first thing is what you said which is it does everything an f-150 does and most places does it better that's number one it's it's affordable it's fast it's quiet it tows it's got payload all that stuff that's the second thing is it could power your house or a job site or you know a tailgate people love the fact that they have energy independence like oh i don't have to worry about that right and the third thing i think is the frunk it's big it's easy to use and people really like the idea of you have lock storage in a pickup truck that's not in the bed or not in the cab and you can use it to have fun you could put a full screen tv in there it's it's great yeah and the idea is the house will power your car when times are good right when times are bad the car will power your house exactly so that's exactly right it's a give and take so one hand washes the other pretty cool yeah now jim was kind enough to make me uh the first tv ride along so let's give it a shot i can't wait it'll be a lot of fun it's amazing how quiet this is isn't it incredible yeah and because the acceleration oh man yeah that's something i think people will be most surprised and attractive that because it be it's a big vehicle yeah this is like as american as you get in the car business a full-size truck and to electrify this vehicle was not just to make it an electric propulsion but to make it a digital product was it was a big challenge for the team i give them so much credit because there was a lot of things to solve for our feedback was it's very smooth because we engineered a independent rear suspension right which was a big investment for us but i think it's worth it it's it's it's quiet it's comfortable why don't we give people more of what they love already like faster acceleration quieter inside yeah you know so it's a hard job trying to predict the market it is because we had to make all these choices four years ago that's what people don't understand yeah yeah but the thing that has really captured the imagination is powering your house yes yes i mean that's such a real world problem yes and it's a problem that if you're the homeowner you can't do anything about it right right you can put the stupid propane generator and sit out there and pull on that and this is really a unique moment in time when your car is like a rolling energy yeah power plant well that was a lot of fun jim thank you very much jay yeah i always think of myself as a car guy but now i'm a truck guy because this yeah it's really yeah it really is it's pretty amazing you know i hope you enjoyed this little uh brief interlude here you can see the full episode this fall on jane ellis garage on cnbc i want to thank jim again for stopping by thank you jay thank you so much keep coming up with new stuff will you this is great yes sir\n"