ROAD READY

A day after a spirited mid-May drive by electric-vehicle (EV) proponent President Joe Biden, Ford revealed technical and market-focused details for the coming all-electric version of the F-150 pickup truck. Officially named F-150 Lightning, recalling the name of a 1990s and 2000s performance variant of the conventional F-150, Ford said the battery-electric model will “start arriving” in mid-2022 at a starting price of $39,974 for the “commercial-oriented” entry model.

The figure is certain to be judged as aggressive, given Ford's only currently available EV, the 2021 Mustang Mach-E, starts at $42,895. The mid-trim F-150 Lightning XLT starts at $52,974-and Ford did concede that customers can pay up to $90,000 for a top-trim variant of the Lightning.