Comparable ICE Models

[Rohan]

From a design & quality of materials perspective, what would you say are the most comparable ICE models to the Mach-E?

The two that come to mind are the Ford Edge or the Lincoln Nautilus. I like to think the Mach-E's quality of materials is more like the Nautlius than the Edge, but having owned neither, i'm not sure.

Sponsored

 

[RickMachE]

I don't think the design of either compares to the Mach-E. Quality of materials - Edge is not comparable, never been in a Nautilus.

What's the point of comparing an ICE vehicle that has nowhere near the handling or power of the Mach-E?

 

[alexgorod]

My last car before MME was a 2019 BMW X3, not the most loaded version but somewhere in the low $50Ks, so pretty comparable to the MME. And moving to MME was an upgrade in all categories.

 

[Rohan]

I don't think the design of either compares to the Mach-E. Quality of materials - Edge is not comparable, never been in a Nautilus.

What's the point of comparing an ICE vehicle that has nowhere near the handling or power of the Mach-E?

I'm a hobby economist with interests in behavioral economics and consumer decisions. I love my Mach-E, but sometimes I breakdown the cost/utility/value proposition of the vehicle and wonder about how it stacks up against current competition.

Here's an example of this process of thinking, with some assumptions made.

In this hypothetical situation:​

​

1.) The ICE vehicle most similarly designed and BOM valued to the Mach-E has an MSRP of ~$45k. The Lincoln Nautilus has a base model starting right around there.​

​

2.) The 2022 Mach-E Premium had an MSRP ~$52k. So there's a ~$7k difference there.​

​

3.) At home charging likely costs something like ~$750 - $1.5k after hardware & installation considerations.​

​

​

With those two cost considerations, we're looking at the Mach-E being something like ~8-9k more expensive to own and operate.​

​

4.) Now, consider the cost savings of driving an EV. I'm not going to calculate out savings on oil changes, because that's a bit too subjective for my use case. However, gas savings alone, the Mach-E would likely save something like $4-5k in fuel savings over the course of like 40k mile of driving. $8-10k in gas savings over the course of 80k miles, etc...​

​

So pretty quickly, we have a situation where similarly BOM'd vehicles are yielding very different value propositions. The Mach-E delivers far more utility and cost savings over the course of it's life.​

​

5.) When you factor in federal + state tax rebates, again depends on individual situations, the Mach-E is actually a steal.​

​

None of this is to speak of the fun of driving the car, or the various preferences of early EV adopters & Mach-E enthusiasts.​

My last car before MME was a 2019 BMW X3, not the most loaded version but somewhere in the low $50Ks, so pretty comparable to the MME. And moving to MME was an upgrade in all categories.

That's really interesting to hear. I assume that generally Ford's BOM & quality of materials is inferior to BMW, but i'm sure there are exceptions. If the Mach-E's BOM looks more like a Lincoln than a Ford, I could see it out finessing the build of a base model BMW x3.

 

[RickMachE]

I'm a hobby economist with interests in behavioral economics and consumer decisions. I love my Mach-E, but sometimes I breakdown the cost/utility/value proposition of the vehicle and wonder about how it stacks up against current competition.

Here's an example of this process of thinking, with some assumptions made.

In this hypothetical situation:​

​

1.) The ICE vehicle most similarly designed and BOM valued to the Mach-E has an MSRP of ~$45k. The Lincoln Nautilus has a base model starting right around there.​

​

2.) The 2022 Mach-E Premium had an MSRP ~$52k. So there's a ~$7k difference there.​

​

3.) The Mach-E could theoretically deliver something like $5k in fuel savings over the course of 40k miles driven, assuming most charging is done at home.​

​

4.) At home charging likely costs something like ~$750 - $1.5k after hardware & installation considerations.​

​

​

With those two cost considerations, we're looking at the Mach-E being something like ~8-9k more expensive to own and operate.​

​

5.) Now, consider the cost savings of driving an EV. I'm not going to calculate out savings on oil changes, because that's a bit too subjective for my use case. However, gas savings alone, the Mach-E would likely save something like $4-5k in fuel savings over the course of like 40k mile of driving. $8-10k in gas savings over the course of 80k miles, etc...​

​

So pretty quickly, we have a situation where similarly BOM'd vehicles are yielding very different value propositions. The Mach-E delivers far more utility and cost savings over the course of it's life.​

​

6.) When you factor in federal + state tax rebates, again depends on individual situations, the Mach-E is actually a steal.​

​

None of this is to speak of the fun of driving the car, or the various preferences of early EV adopters & Mach-E enthusiasts.​

Isn't #3 and #5 the same?

BOM'd?

30% of charger install is a tax credit. Some utilities pay substantial rebates for charger installs.

As an economist, you need to factor in the environmental impact, no?

 

[Rohan]

Isn't #3 and #5 the same?

Hah, yes. I edited that out. I thought i cut it out.

BOM'd?

Bill of Materials, basically the cost of each of the raw materials that go into the product.

30% of charger install is a tax credit. Some utilities pay substantial rebates for charger installs.

Correct, i was including that in the catch all #6 on tax rebates.

As an economist, you need to factor in the environmental impact, no?

You could. But most rational beings are thinking about themselves first and foremost. The environmental impact is part of the calculus for most, but to varying degrees.

Sponsored