What could Ford be thinking? Their F-150 Lightning was canceled in 2025. To Ford, judging by their ads, it looked like a sure thing. Take the most popular vehicle in America and electrify it? Bound to be a winner. It was high-tech, electric, green, and oh-so-cool! It had a “Frunk,” short for “front trunk.”
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It took a few years, but Americans discovered it couldn’t do the things people buy pickups to do. Its range, particularly when towing, was awful. It was worse in winter, when cold sapped about 50% of its range, greatly increased charging times, and it couldn’t keep drivers warm. Ford recommended using only the seat and steering wheel heaters.
Despite MSRPs in the $80,000 range, Ford lost as much as $60,000 on every Lightning. Ford admitted an $11.1 billion loss in the first quarter of 2026, though bizarrely suggested they’d lose $4 to $5 billion in 2026. They’ve been losing at least that yearly amount on EVs for years.
“I think the customer has spoken,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on the company’s earnings call. “That’s the punchline.”
Yet Ford continues to build the Mach-E, which starts at $37,795. Ford tried to market it as a police cruiser. A few blue city police agencies fell for that, but not for long. Ford sold only 4600 in the first quarter of 2026, which could optimistically mean 18,400 for the year. In comparison, Toyota sold 317,186 Camrys in 2025. carfigures.com/us-market-brand/toyota/camry Manufacturers selling so few vehicles normally cancel that product. It still makes an “E-Transit” cargo van.
Graphic: X Post
So, Ford heard the customer speak but didn’t pay attention. Ford is spending $50 billion through 2026 on EVs, including a compact pickup they’ve unfathomably named the “Fathom.” According to Motor Trend, a notorious EV cheerleader, it’s the same size and configuration as the conventionally powered Ford Maverick compact pickup, a best seller.
Its primary selling point is a $29,945 starting price, with a $1,595 destination and delivery add-on, for $31,540. Every manufacturer makes a few at the lowest price point for advertising, but if you want one with minimal gear, expect another $6,000 or so. And it has a Frunk!
The Fathom has “Bi-Directional Power Capability”—old tech. Theoretically, in a power outage, you could use it to power your house until the battery is dead with no way to recharge it. You can also apparently power appliances while camping. Just be sure to leave enough juice in the battery to get back to civilization.
MT speculated about a tire symbol in the Fathom:
A tire could also indicate a drive mode, and Ford has used a similar symbol in the Maverick to denote the traction control, which can have off-road or performance modes. If nothing else, we think it’s meant to signal capability since critics have questioned whether a small, low-riding, electric pickup will be able to do “real” truck things like towing, hauling, and off-roading.
Imagine that. Critics questioning that kind of thing when the full-sized, now-canceled F-150 Lightning had real trouble with that stuff.
The Fathom won’t be available until late in 2027, but Ford would really like you to preorder one in early 2027. No, they don’t have any range figures yet, but experience has taught Americans that EPA range figures for EVs are wildly optimistic and might only apply in an EV with no cargo, no passengers, on completely flat roads with no wind, and if highway speeds are carefully avoided. That’s partly why the Lightning is an ex-EV: it wasn’t ready for prime time, and neither are most other EVs.
Full disclosure: My wife and I happily own two Ford pickups, a Maverick and a Ranger. We’re very Wyoming that way. That’s why I worry about Ford refusing to learn what to Normal Americans appear obvious lessons. OK, the Fathom is a compact pickup like the very successful, well-designed, and well-made Maverick. And it, if you’re very careful, costs less than Ford’s previous EVs—maybe.
But it’s still an EV.
It still has cold- and hot-weather performance problems. It will still have horrific range problems when loaded and when towing. It will still take a very long time to recharge. Repair and body shop costs will still be astronomical, and so will insurance rates, and resale value will be abysmal. That’s why Ford abandoned its utopian plans to make 50% of its lineup electric by 2030, and why every other manufacturer has done the same.
EVs comprise around 7% of all vehicles sold in the US. It’s a very small market. They’re not for everyone. Perhaps Ford is hoping to lose only $20,000 or so on each Fathom? I thought they were a for-profit corporation. Silly me.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.