Ford's first e-crate sells out, VW Bus' electric reboot nears reality, NASCAR crowns new Cup king

[Hagerty]

Intake: Well, that was fast. After making its debut under the hood of a sweet 1976 F-100 last week at SEMA, Ford's Eluminator e-crate motor is already sold out, according to the automaker. "Demand has exceeded expectations," says Emma Bergg, of Ford's Electric Vehicle Communications team.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-manifold/2021-11-08/

[SJ]

I should have thought of that to keep the old classics on the road longer,convert to electric. I see it selling out now. Maybe a hybrid too, keep the ICE and add an electric motor for most of the time, use the gas burner when you want.

[TG]

We are approaching a collector car reality where folks are increasingly defining a collector car as the shell, with the interior and drivetrain of a modern car. As this progresses, folks will realize they can buy the shell as entirely new sheet metal and graft it onto a Mach-E and call it a collector car. No more dealing with rusty parts or swap meets - and hopefully no more butchered actual collector cars for the rest of us

[Oldroad1]

I don't know if you can put the two together.

[Maestro1]

The news of Ford's EV was dramatic. This rush to electric is disconcerting. Who fixes these cars when they fall down in some small town in the Midwest or wherever? And in other news, Mercedes and Visa have made it possible for you sit on your a** and shop. Big deal.
The arrogance is interesting.
Very happy for Kyle Larson; it proves that with enough guts and courage comebacks are possible.
Very happy for Cadillac dealers who want out. Why have product shoved down your throat?
I always read Manifold. Good work, whoever you are.

[Grace]

thanks for the feedback! it's a team effort. (an effort of manifold persons, even?!)

[PRScott]

Kyle Larson is a racist **bleep**. He didn't make a mistake, he slipped up and showed the world who he really is. Glad you're happy for him. That says something about you.

[SuperDeLuxe]

Accusing someone of being a racist is pretty unkind.
People make mistakes, I can't say what Kyle's intent was, but shutting down dialog with angry words doesn't accomplish anything. Peace.

[Oldroad1]

Team owners over look an individual's charactor if they can perform. If the boss didn't see the skills he would have never been in that seat or any other. So the driver attends a couple of months of "Get your mind right school" and he's good enough in the head to drive. Only in America.

[RickL]

My 5.0 in my 1984 20th Anniversary Model Mustang has over 200,000 miles on it, getting a little tired after all the years of service (and drag strip and N02 abuse), would be something with an electric motor, hmmm. I really do not travel that far from home with it as much anymore so I would never really have to worry about recharging unless it gets less than 150 miles or so.

[Rick2]

The ID Buzz grew a big mouth, not good.

[Justice]

I'm just waiting for the governments new $12,000.00 incentive, plan on getting a Corsair. 2022or 2023.

[hyperv6]

NASCAR finally did award the best team and driver in spite of a horrible points system

The Xfinity series sacrificed the best these and driver for a last lap pass for the championship. Sad really sad. 

The Ford EV sell out is more hype than anything. Note they supply no numbers. 

gas is not going to vanish and the allure of these older cars will be the sound and feel of the ICE engine. Just like the times I had flown in a B25 bomber the sound and feel just has no comparison to a jet. 

The  only fear is when places like California ban the use of ICE for any reason. Or should I say no reason. 

[farna]

My bet is that Ford didn't have that many electric conversion motors to sell. It's the same thing they use in their Mach-E (I still can't call it a "Mustang"!!), and I bet that takes priority. So they had a few extras lying around, why not see if they will sell? You still need some type of controller, they run as low as ~$500 for up to 72 volts, but if you want some power and range you have to step up to a $1400 72-120V controller. That's not all the controls needed -- throttle, battery management, etc. -- figure another $1200 for that, and wiring and connectors. Then you have a $5K+ battery pack, depending on how far you want to go on a charge ($5K would get you about 50 miles of range in a Miata sized car with LiFePO4 batteries -- new). My best guess is that $3900 motor package is at the minimum 1/3 of the total cost needed, and then if you do the work yourself. See https://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/ and http://www.ev-propulsion.com/EV-calculations.html. If you're paying for all the fab work to mount the motor and needed suspension conversion work, the motor cost is probably closer to 1/6 the total conversion cost. Plus the cost of the vehicle being converted. I'd hope you can recoup a bit of money by selling of the no longer needed engine, trans, and other parts though. Really depends on condition and what you're converting.

[SilentBoy741]

The most embarrassing moment for an MBUX Mercedes Owner:
"We're sorry, sir, but your car has been declined."

[erne75]

Eluminator motors sold out? Hmmm...Is Ford taking a page from the Government playbook and just lying to drive the agenda? Maybe, maybe not. I dont see enthusiasts flocking to electrify their cars and make them soulless boring appliances...

[farna]

To get a better idea of what it would cost for all necessary components check out the complete EV kits at https://legacyev.com/collections/legacy-kits. Starts at $17,800 for a 127hp 91 mile range kit with ALMOST everything you'd need, and go up to $66,800 with 473 hp/264 mile range. Description for the kits say that all the essentials are there and that they use top notch components (Tesla battery packs). You would still need to fab mounts and such specific to your vehicle.

The Hyper 9 motor they use retails for a little more than the Ford motor, but comes WITH a controller -- $4200 vs. $3900. Since controllers run in the $1200-1500 range for high voltage/output, that makes it a bit lower cost than the Ford unit, but the Ford unit appears to be ready for a half-shaft one each side and has mounting points on it. The Hyper 9 is a round motor with a single shaft on one end, made to go through a differential. Legacy EV shows a pickup frame with the motor installed, no transmission, but you could adapt to a trans. You could shop around and use lower cost components, and if you wanted to keep a transmission you could use a lower power motor.

[milo2021]

It should be noted that EV in classics diminishes the very nostalgic reason to have one. You can modernize the driving inadequacy of the past without this novelty approach. But be that as it may its your choice. However the govt is choosing for everyone to join in their EV parade without concern for our choice with everyday cars. The buyout choice by Cadillac dealerships is an indication that customer choice for what cars they want would make their decision to bail. And given the track record of govt undertaking a change this drastic is sure to have many large potholes. Do you really trust this govt to replace the system in place today for one very untested?

[TonyT]

So, am I the only one that is looking at the elephant standing behind the Ford parts department person when you're buying an Eluminator? You know, the literal trunk-load of batteries needed to run this thing. How many people are going to be willing to cut up a '69 Mach 1 to bolt in several hundred pounds of electrical storage units that will magically make the car handle "like a Chris Craft in quicksand," to quote Tom McCahill. Might be better to explore a small nuclear reactor... what could go wrong?

[Tinkerah]

I don't imagine '69 Mach 1's getting cut up for electric conversions but how about, say, a plain Jane '73 Mustang? Or any Maverick? Inexpensive stuff that could still be fun.

[Oldroad1]

When it comes to EVs and classics I think people are going to be in for a shocking disappointment. Your cookie cutter EV bodies are feather lite made of composits. Your 50s and 60s classics? Made of heavy steel and some cast iron, even heavier. Weight means load on the EV battery and motor. Equals fast discharge and a gasping 281 ponies worth of EV power. However, if those purchasing this package are for other projects such as street or sand toys? Maybe. What about charging?

[red-on-red]

So Ford sold out the eluminator in a week, that's nice for them. The story fails to mention how many motors were in that first sellout run, 10 ?? 15 ??
It doesn't look very automotive. It looks like it should have a glass top and a few drink coasters. Gary