Electric pickup buyback: A purchaser’s tale
East Greenbush driver loves his Ford despite issues; he and others say EV options should forge ahead
AVERILL PARK — When he first purchased it a year ago, Gene Fiacco couldn’t have been happier with his shiny new top-of-the-line Ford 150 Lightning electric pickup truck.
“The truck was fantastic,” said Fiacco.
It handled well, was comfortable and the electric motor delivered headsnapping acceleration that rivaled that of the Dodge Demon, vintage 1969 Road Runner and other muscle cars that Fiacco, 58, an admitted car nut, owns.
His family runs a trucking business in East Greenbush and he knew that the state and federal governments are phasing in mandates on electric trucks, eventually impacting the large semis that his company runs so he wanted to try one, starting with the pickup.
Two years ago, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered state regulators to develop requirements that all new cars and trucks, as well as SUVs sold here in 2035 be zero emission, meaning they would be electric or some other non-fossil fuel such as hydrogen.
Mandate or not, Fiacco could have served as a spokesman for electric vehicles, or EVs, especially the Lightning. He traded his EV Mustang for the truck, which in the $92,000 Platinum version was as much a luxury car
as a work vehicle.
He tested out its light towing capabilities and that was fine. And he saved money on gas by charging the truck at home.
“Every day it impressed me more and more,” he said.
A year later, though, the truck suddenly stopped running.
It turned out to have bad cells in the battery. The local dealer would have to wait for new cells and equipment to
make the repairs.
Ford was accommodating, giving Fiacco a loaner vehicle. After a few weeks, they said it wasn’t fixable at the shop.
“Then Ford called and offered me my money back,” Fiacco said. Ford refunded the year’s worth of $1,000 monthly payments he had been making.
Last month, Fiacco went back to driving the older Ford diesel pickup
he uses for day-to-day transportation.
Touted as a milestone
Much of the automotive media two years ago was touting the rollout of the Lightning as a milestone for EVs. The traditional gas-powered F150 pickup is a perennial best-seller in both the truck market and in the market for vehicles in general.
Ford initially received 69,500 refundable deposit orders after plans for the truck were first announced in June 2021, and they eventually had 200,000 reservations. Fast forward to this April and the company, at least in some instances, is buying the vehicles back.
Ford didn’t return an email on the buyback, and it isn’t clear how many trucks it has repurchased. But a quick internet search turned up the websites of some auto dealers in New York and other places as well as chat rooms for “Re-Acquired Vehicles” or RAVs from the automaker.
Most states, including New York, have Lemon Laws that provide for buybacks of defective vehicles. And automakers in general have long offered what are known as secret warranties where they will fix or replace vehicles, even if they are out of warranty. It’s a way to maintain good relations with the buying public.
But Ford in recent months has cut prices on their Lightnings. That came
after the company has cut the number of workers building the EV truck in Michigan, citing lowered demand.
So what does this mean for EVs in general?
EV supporters say it’s not representative of the market for conventional electric vehicles as Teslas or Chevrolet Bolts.
“We’re seeing that as a one-off,” said Nydia Gutierrez, communications coordinator for Earth Justice, one of numerous groups that has supported mandates to eventually ban the sale of gas and diesel vehicles in favor of alternatives such as EVs.
But the long-term outook for EVs remains strong. Analysts for the Kelley Blue Book believe that EVs will make up 10 percent of vehicle sales this year, part of a steady long-term rise.
And the federal Energy Information Administration found that hybrids (like the Toyota Prius), plug-in
hybrids and all electric vehicles like the Lightning, rose to 16 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales in 2023, up from less than 4 percent in 2014.
Weight is a factor
There does appear to be a split between the views of EVs in general and the larger pickup trucks.
In an unscientific survey taken last winter at a Kingston charging station, the owners of EV cars including a compact Chevrolet Bolt and Hyundai Ioniq, said they like their non-gas vehicles.
Tyler Montague, of Montclair, N.J., said his Ioniq takes 18 minutes to charge, which was a small price to pay for the gas savings and performance.
But Saugerties resident Matt Kay was displeased by the slower charging time of his Lightning 150, necessitated by the truck’s heavier weight and need for more battery power.
“The range is the biggest problem,” he said, explaining that his job as an engineer for communication centers requires trips all over the state. After about 200 miles he’s got to spend an hour or so charging it at some stations.
Recently, Ford offered access to the Tesla charging network, which is considerably faster than other chargers. “For local trips, it’s fantastic,” he remarked.
Fiacco hasn’t given up on the concept of electric cars. He said he realizes they are the wave of the future. He believes, however that the technology needs more refinement before it is practical for larger vehicles.
That’s also the case for the biggest of trucks like semitractors, where dealers worry about future mandates requiring that dealers stock a certain number of the EVs.
Electric semitractors are 50 percent heavier than their diesel equivalents and can take up to eight hours to charge.
“It’s apples and oranges,” Rick Crumlish, branch manager for Kenworth Northeast, a semitruck dealer in Saratoga County, said of the difference between EV passenger cars and trucks.