Ford Mach E commercial

dbsb3233

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If they want to appeal to younger buyers
The big problem there is the purchase price though. BEVs are still way more expensive than their similar ICE counterparts. And younger buyers usually don't have that "extra" disposable income like older buyers more often do.

Take the Mustang for instance. Even the most scaled-down MME starts at $44k, while the base ICE Mustang starts at $27k. $17k more for the BEV is a huge difference.

Also, if one doesn't have a house to plug it at nightly, BEVs can be much more difficult. Home ownership is also less common among younger buyers.
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ajmartineau

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Buyers need to be able to (learn how to) think of the total cost of ownership. You have to include all the savings and extras of owning a BEV. The payment on my “$42k” Bolt costs my wife less each month than she was paying in gas on her previous car. ... plus the other overall savings of a BEV.

How is that way more expensive.
 

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I have always been interested in tech (and cars), and it is my hobby like other guys golf. Since I was a kid at the beginning of the computer revolution when we still had to fill in circles on cards to write a computer program. I've also always been interested in conservation and going "green".
Add to that changing jobs 5 years ago where my 5 mile commute turned into a 95 mile daily commute, and the Mach E is hitting all the right notes for me. And, oh yeah, I just turned 60 this year, so the fact it is a Mustang has my wife thinking I am in one of those life crisis modes.
 

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Thanks for sharing trutolife27! There has been discussion about the target age group for this video. I am in an older age group but found the video engaging and interesting. It would have zero impact on my desire for a Mach-E but I enjoyed the dynamics of the video and felt it was a nice vibe to associate with the car. In advertising, it is not uncommon to frame a product as hip for a certain age group in order to actually appeal to an older audience that wants to believe it is hip again (or for the first time). I was drawn to the Mach-E rather than staying with the Bolt EV primarily because of: AWD, bigger size, more comfortable seats, wireless Apple Car Play, wireless phone charging that should work conveniently, adaptive cruise control, a small range boost, and (drumroll) because it has an integrated garage door opener (believe it or not, the Bolt does not have that feature). Bonus: the Mach-E looks really cool and I loved our 1965 mustang and the others I drove in the 1970s--make me young again Mustang but more responsible (EV) and I am yours! I am sure once people see that I have a Mustang again, they will all agree that I am hip--just like the video. Right?
So, it you were trying to sell an electric "muscle car" to a middle aged audience, would you expect elevator music and people in walkers?
 

dbsb3233

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Buyers need to be able to (learn how to) think of the total cost of ownership. You have to include all the savings and extras of owning a BEV. The payment on my “$42k” Bolt costs my wife less each month than she was paying in gas on her previous car. ... plus the other overall savings of a BEV.

How is that way more expensive.
That's why I said "purchase price".

Similarly though, the same affect can apply to ongoing fuel costs. If you don't have a house to charge in on cheap residential rates, you may not realize the cost savings on fuel. Residential rates can be 1/3rd the cost of gas, but on the other end of the scale is EA at around 2x the cost of gas.
 


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Buyers need to be able to (learn how to) think of the total cost of ownership. You have to include all the savings and extras of owning a BEV. The payment on my “$42k” Bolt costs my wife less each month than she was paying in gas on her previous car. ... plus the other overall savings of a BEV.

How is that way more expensive.
Exactly the maintenance and gas savings will add up. If you put any value on your time not sitting in a dealers garage waiting for an oil change is also is a savings. A gas SUV of this luxury is how much 50 to 60K (CAD $)? 20 to 30K more with a 10 year pay back and not running into garages all the time. I keep my vehicles for awhile and this one will be babied (hope). All they are is a depreciating expensive and not even close to an investment. I learned that with my 39 chev that I drove through high school, rodded by welding a camaro front clip in with 327 4 barrel through university (chroming killed me) and at the end I had a fast, really good looking, old car. Now look for longevity and future proofing.
 

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That's why I said "purchase price".

Similarly though, the same affect can apply to ongoing fuel costs. If you don't have a house to charge in on cheap residential rates, you may not realize the cost savings on fuel. Residential rates can be 1/3rd the cost of gas, but on the other end of the scale is EA at around 2x the cost of gas.
I think you are talking about the group that does not buy new to begin with and will buy used to start. Not the tech kids that work for MS, apple, amazon etc. the list goes on and on. Appears to me that some kids will hawk there left arm for a Tesla.
 

dbsb3233

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I think you are talking about the group that does not buy new to begin with and will buy used to start. Not the tech kids that work for MS, apple, amazon etc. the list goes on and on. Appears to me that some kids will hawk there left arm for a Tesla.
Oh sure, there's always some. Of anything. But I'm talking the big picture, not just a small fraction of the market. There's 15 million new cars sold in the US annually.

There are some high-income young people. But that's an exception to the overall income/wealth trend.
 

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So, it you were trying to sell an electric "muscle car" to a middle aged audience, would you expect elevator music and people in walkers?
Nope. Like I tried to imply, I think they went the correct direction with this.
 

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That's why I said "purchase price".

Similarly though, the same affect can apply to ongoing fuel costs. If you don't have a house to charge in on cheap residential rates, you may not realize the cost savings on fuel. Residential rates can be 1/3rd the cost of gas, but on the other end of the scale is EA at around 2x the cost of gas.
tl;dr The devil is in the details.

Electric rates are stunningly high in Hawaii in general and are literally the highest in the nation where I live (Hawaii island). Base HELCO rate is a bit under 40¢ per kWh. With our gas costs over $3.00 per US gallon, that will equate to about a 12¢ per mile cost for gasoline for a 2019 Hyundai Kona. Given the electrical rates are more than double those elsewhere (on average) we can expect a model Y to have a cost per mile of around 10¢ per mile when charged on an L2 charger at home during our off-peak periods. The wrinkle is that off-peak is from 9 am to 5 pm here with overnight costs by far the highest. So if you're in an apartment, condo, or other situation where you have no Level 2 capability, you're stuck with commercial chargers. The costs for DCFC out here is 51¢ per kWh off-peak (9 to 5).

Comparing apples to apples is a hard thing when it comes to ICE vs BEV. Far more variables than with comparing a Ford Explorer to some other ICE vehicle.
 

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Buyers need to be able to (learn how to) think of the total cost of ownership. You have to include all the savings and extras of owning a BEV. The payment on my “$42k” Bolt costs my wife less each month than she was paying in gas on her previous car. ... plus the other overall savings of a BEV.

How is that way more expensive.

If you amortize the 42k over a 84 month term with no interest you get a monthly expense of $500.
In a 20 mpg ICE vehicle she would have to drive 3,800 miles to spend $500 on fuel. That is 3 times the pre-pandemic average. I dare say, the monthly 'cost' of the Bolt is not more than her prior fuel cost.

Even if she were spending $500 per month pre-Bolt, she is still consuming $120+ in electricity to move the Bolt 3800 miles

The fuel cost of a Hyundai Kona ICE would bring a gas savings over the 20mpg $500 at $330 per year. A 42k Bolt is roughly $20k more expensive than a similarly equipped Hyundai Kona ICE. The fuel savings of Bolt electricity over Kona gasoline, $210 per month, will take 8 years to offset the difference in price.

I don't think one can argue TCO as a resounding win for Bolt [or most current EVs without the tax incentives]. Yes there will be savings on break wear, but that may be offset by higher tire expense. Insurance cost? Installation costs of a L2 EVSE. Time & frustration until the charging infrastructure is fleshed out. I'd call it a wash at best.

If and when gas prices at the pump hit $4 plus, maybe.
 

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Oh sure, there's always some. Of anything. But I'm talking the big picture, not just a small fraction of the market. There's 15 million new cars sold in the US annually.

There are some high-income young people. But that's an exception to the overall income/wealth trend.
I wouldn’t be so sure.
From the link someone already shared “U.S. Millennials will soon account for most new vehicle purchases.”

You think high income young people are the exception but here in Seattle it’s the rule. One of the reasons I’m buying a MME is because Teslas are so common they are boring to me here.

As someone who is younger, has worked in advertising for over a decade, and specifically work in product marketing I find this conversation interesting but I think the ad is good. Completely agree the mcconaughey kind of angle would’ve been a total misstep.
 

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Curious to hear @Badger_Prof's take on this ad. I think it's hilarious, and keeps the Golf GTI interesting to both young adults and grandmas. :)

I absolutely love this ad! It is creative, fun, and engaging. By the way, it also makes the point that young people are not the only ones who can have crazy fun with a car.
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