Tag Archives: Pickups

Ford Develops Range-Extender Option for Electric F-150

One of the schematics included in the Ford F-150 Electric patent application.

By mid-decade we could see as many as nine or more all-electric pickups from a mix of startups like Rivian and established automakers, including Ford. All face at least one significant challenge, however: a lack of range, especially when towing or hauling a heavy load of cargo.

A newly discovered Ford patent suggests the Detroit automaker might have a solution, however, a drop-in range extender that can be mounted in the bed of the upcoming F-150 Electric where the locking toolbox option normally would go.

Filed Sept. 15 and described in the application to the U.S. patent office as “electric vehicles with removable and interchangeable range extending generators,” the concept isn’t entirely new. Several vehicles already have gone the onboard generator route, including the Chevrolet Volt and the BMW i3 REx.

(Ford planning mid-2022 launch for F-150 EV.)

The generator could be disguised as a removable toolbox.

This approach is distinctly different from a plug-in hybrid where a vehicle pairs an electric drive system with an internal combustion engine that can fire up, either to boost power or to take over when the vehicle’s batteries run down. Significantly, there is a direct link between the gas or diesel engine and the vehicles wheels.

With a range extender, there is no direct link between the engine and the wheels. Its only purpose is to generate current that can be used to either recharge a drained battery or to power the vehicle’s electric motors.

In the case of a pickup, an internal combustion engine could serve a third purpose, functioning as a generator for tools, lights and other goods at a work site. The newly introduced versions of the 2021 Ford F-150, including the all-new hybrid model, will feature the ability to turn the truck into a rolling generator.

Part of the Ford patent application.

The good news with EVs is that batteries are becoming both more energy dense – translating into greater range – as well as less expensive. Manufacturers are promising to deliver at least 300 miles for the various all-electric pickups that have been announced by manufacturers such as Tesla, Ford, Rivian, Bollinger and Lordstown Motors. General Motors has indicated the upcoming GMC Hummer will push up into 400-mile territory.

Those figures should come with big asterisks, however, as they will be impacted significantly – and, likely, quite severely – by a variety of different factors. These include not only the payload a truck is carrying, and the trailer it’s towing, but also by weather conditions. Studies by TheDetroitBureau.com, AAA and Consumer Reports have all indicated that EV range routinely drops by more than 40% when the mercury falls to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Ford electric prototype hauls 1 million pounds.)

That could prove to be a difficult hurdle to clear when pitching to commercial and professional buyers, as many of the manufacturers are planning with their BEV pickups.

The system could also be used as a workplace generator, like the ones that will be offered on the various Ford F-150 pickups for 2021.

Eliminating range anxiety with a built-in generator could overcome that problem. And the way the Ford patent application has been put together indicates the company envisions its extender to be a removable, rather than fixed, part of the F-150 EV’s design. If so, an owner or operator could plug it into the bed only when needed to boost range, removing it to free up bed space at other times.

According to the application, the range-extender design could store as much as 15 gallons of fuel, enough to boost range substantially between fill and charge ups.

In its application, Ford noted that the “toolbox” shaped generator could be “removably positioned within the cargo space and adapted to selectively output power for either charging the battery pack or propelling the (electrically motorized) drive wheels.”

Of course, the big question will likely be one of cost. Ford has not mentioned pricing for the range-extender package. And purchase price is just part of the equation. As far as fleets and other commercial users are concerned, one of the big selling points for EVs is their low operating cost. Adding a range extender could throw that equation out of balance.

Automakers frequently file patents that never make it into production, of course, so it is far from clear that it ever actually will offer the range-extender technology – and, if so, when.

(BMW unplugs range-extending i3 REx.)

The Ford F-150 Electric pickup itself is scheduled to go on sale sometime in 2022, around the time we’ll begin seeing competitive truck BEVs like the GMC Hummer, Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck.

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GM Pushes for Round Two in Legal Battle with Fiat Chrysler

GM asked a federal judge to reinstate its lawsuit against rival Fiat Chrysler.

General Motors Co. has asked the federal judge that dismissed its lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. to reinstate the lawsuit, claiming it has new evidence.

The automaker asked Judge Paul Borman to reconsider his earlier judgement on the alleged racketeering charges GM levied at Fiat Chrysler. Borman initially characterized the case as a “waste of time,” but allowed it to proceed.

“These new facts warrant amending the court’s prior judgment, so we are respectfully asking the court to reinstate the case,” GM said in a statement. GM asked for $1 billion in damages in the initial lawsuit.

(GM lawsuit against FCA tossed out by judge.)

Fiat Chrysler has maintained that GM’s lawsuit is without merit.

The company said it’s come across “reliable information concerning the existence of foreign bank accounts” used in the alleged scheme, GM attorneys revealed in affidavits in the filing, according to the Detroit News.

Borman tossed the suit last month after an appeals court kicked it back to him, saying GM supposed “injuries” weren’t a result of the FCA’s alleged violations.

“GM’s failure to plead sufficient facts showing that it was proximately harmed ‘by reason of’ Defendants’ alleged § 1962 violations means that it did not state a cognizable civil RICO claim,” Borman said in his 30-page ruling that reviewed GM original allegations and legal arguments.

(Appeals court nixes GM-FCA CEO pow-wow.)

GM filed a lawsuit last year claiming rival Fiat Chrysler had corrupted officials of the United Auto Workers union in a bid to gain a competitive advantage, has been dismissed by a federal judge in Detroit.

After federal investigators had spent several months uncovering a corrupt bargain between FCA executives and UAW officers, GM decided it had been aggrieved and filed suit.

Alphons Iacobelli, right, was previously sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for his role in the FCA-UAW training fund scandal, including paying off now-deceased UAW VP General Holiefield’s mortgage.

Specifically, GM alleged that Fiat Chrysler “corrupted” collective bargaining agreements between GM and UAW in 2009, 2011 and 2015 by paying millions in dollars in bribes, and that the alleged scheme was authorized at the highest levels of Fiat Chrysler, including the company’s late Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne.

The lawsuits claim that throughout the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that FCA employed a bribery scheme to obtain favorable terms in its collective bargaining agreement with the UAW.

(FCA hit with series of class-action lawsuits over bribery charges.)

Ultimately, the investigation has led to the conviction of three FCA executives and more than a dozen UAW officers and officials as well as the widow of the former UAW officer in charge of union’s FCA section when the bribery and other corrupt acts that served as the basis of the GM lawsuit took place.

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Safety Advocates Push for Advanced Tech Mandate to Cut Hot Car Deaths

KidsAndCars.org hosted a webinar showing tech available now that could cut hot car child deaths.

Safety advocates pushing for new technology that would alert drivers if they leave a child in their vehicle after leaving it say the new devices could lower the cost of sensor technology in current and coming vehicles.

KidsAndCars.org rolled out examples of new technology that could be installed in vehicles right now that can determine if a baby or small child has been left in a vehicle and trigger a series of alarms and warnings to prevent that child from dying or being injured due to exposure in an overheated vehicle.

The group also promoted the Hot Cars Act that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the recent Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2). It now needs Senate approval and a presidential signature before it mandates technology that issues audio and visual warnings inside and outside the vehicle.

(Hot car child deaths could end year with unwanted record.)

“We simply cannot let another summer pass without making the life-saving and desperately needed technology a part of the solution to save the lives of innocent babies. Every day that we delay in advancing these cost-effective detection technologies means children are at risk of needlessly dying.” said Janette Fennell, president of KidsAndCars.org during the webinar.

The organization has teamed with other safety-oriented groups to advocate for a variety of tech-oriented issues in the auto industry, such as pushing for further testing of autonomous vehicles before they drive

Vayyar Imaging’s child detection system can sense if a child is breathing — under a blanket.

on public issues.

The hot car issue is at the fore of many efforts because an average of 39 children die annually after being trapped inside a hot vehicle. However, the last two years have seen new records of 54 and 55 deaths. The organization believes automakers need to do more to prevent these fatalities.

More importantly, they want a technology that works well, unlike many of the systems that are currently in place. The groups want it though of like other safety components in a vehicle: they should work — period.

“The voluntary agreement notes that a system must ‘consider the potential presence’ of an occupant and provide an alert when there is ‘the potential presence’ of an occupant,” said Shaun Kildare, Senior Director of Research at Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

(Automakers offer possible solutions as child heatstroke deaths rise.)

“This allows for technology which does not detect, but rather essentially guesses whether there may be a child left in a vehicle.” He continued, “You wouldn’t want your brakes to potentially work when you press them.”

The groups did point out that Hyundai’s Ultrasonic sensor-based technology would meet the requirements set forth in the Hot Cars Act. Hyundai, and its sister auto brand Kia, began offering it last year after introducing it in 2017. Other automakers have systems in place as well, including General Motors which has offered its Rear Seat Reminder on all of its four-door sedans, trucks and SUVs starting with the 2019 model year as well.

KidAndCars is working with a variety of safety advocacy groups.

The group is working with four automotive technology companies to advance the cause of getting new sensor-based systems in future vehicles that can better determine if there’s a baby or simply an inanimate object in the car.

Each of the four, Aptiva, IEE Sensing, Caaresys and Vayyar Imaging, all offered videos promoting their technology, outlining how it can help automakers meet the mandate of the Hot Cars Act as well as make things easier as they move toward autonomous vehicles, especially on the cost front.

Ian Podkamien, Vayyar’s director of business development, said its iteration of the tech is a “very, very affordable element” of the system, adding it would actually save U.S. automakers money. The consensus of the calls experts was that it could be cost neutral once mandated because of the economies of scale.

(Nissan rear door alert aims to prevent child heatstroke deaths.)

The problem isn’t just a problem in the U.S., according to the organization, noting its been tracking the problem in 56 countries around the world and it’s on the rise in most of those as well.

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Tesla Chooses Texas for Next Gigafactory

In case you were wondering if Texas or Oklahoma was the site for the new Gigafactory, that’s Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on the left.

Things are coming up roses for Tesla these days – yellow roses – as the California-based EV maker announced it will build its next Gigafactory on a 2,000-acre plot of land just outside Austin, Texas.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the choice – Tulsa, Oklahoma was the other finalist – during the company’s second quarter earnings call. He said the site, which is on the banks of the Colorado River, would be an “ecological paradise” with a hiking and biking trail open to the public, should open sometime next year.

The plant, dubbed GigaTexas, will build a variety of vehicles, including the new Cybertruck and the Tesla semi. It will also handle Model 3 and Model Y production for the eastern half of North America. He also noted that Tulsa could still be in line for a future factory. After announcement, Musk was quick to point out the company will still grow in California.

(Tesla reports $104M Q2 profit; fourth consecutive quarter of profits.)

“We expect California to do Model X and S for worldwide consumption, and 3 and Y for the western half of North America. We also think the Tesla Roadster … would make sense in California. I think this is a nice split between Texas and California.”

Tesla’s Cybertruck is one of four products that the company will build at GigaTexas once it’s complete.

In addition to what is going to get built where in the U.S., Musk addressed potential future products and how they fit into the company’s plans.

“It would be reasonable to assume we’d make a compact vehicle of some kind, and probably a high capacity vehicle of some kind,” he said. “These are likely things at some point. I do think there’s a long way to go with 3 and Y, Cybertruck and semi. There’s a long way to go with those. I think we’ll do the obvious things.”

While future product is critical to the company’s long-term growth, Musk says he’s got his eyes on a short-term prize: full-self driving. The CEO has long predicted that (insert year here) will be when FSD will be available in vehicles.

However, after years of missed deadlines, the company may be on track to meet his latest goal of having it available sometime this year. He called it the “most important thing” on his very full agenda, adding “everything else is pretty small by comparison.”

(Texas offers Tesla $80M in incentives for new gigafactory.)

Musk has been selling the FSD to buyers for several years now but increasing the price for the dormant technology during the past few years, starting at $5,000 to add it and now it sits at $8,000 and it’s going to get pricier as it gets closer to launch. However, there’s a good reason to charge so much money for the technology, Musk believes, as you’ll get what you pay for — and then some.

Tesla is getting ready to produce its first heavy-duty model, the all-electric Semi. It, too, will be built at the new plant in Texas.

“I think the upgrading of the fleet to full-self driving, essentially with an over-the-air software update, I mean may go down as the biggest asset value increase in history as a step change,” he said. “Overnight … you’d have like, I don’t know, a few million cars suddenly becoming five times more valuable.”

Those vehicles also become an even bigger revenue stream for Musk and Tesla as then he can begin to sell access for services, like shopping, games, movies, etc. that could be used by drivers as they allow their vehicle to drive them to their destination.

In fact, Musk is using an advanced test version of the technology now and says he can drive from his home to the office without intervention. While he wouldn’t commit to it being ready this year, he suggested he thought it would be, then it would be a matter of governmental approvals.

(CEO Musk sees big growth coming soon for Tesla.)

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