Ford Dealer Brings the Retro Pickup Look to the F-150 Lightning Pro
You can hear “Rock This Town” in your head just by looking at this truck.
A Ford dealer in Illinois is selling a Ford F-150 Lightning restyled seemingly to appeal to nostalgic Baby Boomers, similar to other retro truck styling packages offered by dealers.
Filmed by DriveElectricWithDomenick at Victor Ford Motor Sports in Wacaunda, Illinois, the Lightning has been completely redecorated with chrome-like elements and a two-tone body and interior. It appears to take after the styling cues popular on the cars of the late 1950s and 1960s, with primary colors and chrome echoed in this Lightning's red-and-white color scheme. There's a band of color that wraps around the truck's waist and quilted leather seating in the same colors inside.
There's now more chrome than an AutoZone warehouse; the stuff adorns everything from the mirror caps to the door handles, badging, and even Lightning script on the fenders. It already shines like a foil baseball card without the chromed-up pseudo-steelie wheels and running boards, made necessary by the Lightning's apparent lift.
Who this Lightning is meant to appeal to isn't clear, as its aesthetic appeals to a demographic (Boomers) that's statistically not very interested in EVs, according to The Zebra. Lifting an electric truck compromises its low center of gravity, too. As for how it looks to me at least, it's a tacky pastiche of midcentury design that I'd frankly never like to see again in my life. Also, the way that leather flaps from the seat back makes it look cheap.
Speaking of cheap, this truck is anything but, according to the video's uploader. Though this particular Lightning isn't listed on the dealer's site, it's apparently priced in the $60,000s (the video isn't quite clear). They say there's no accounting for taste; I say someone's doing no accounting at all if they're dropping 60 grand on this.
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