F-150 Lightning Proves Its Towing Power Truck Tackles Icy Ike Gauntlet in Winter, Sizzling Davis Dam in Summer
W hether hauling snowmobiles to the cabin in the dead of winter or the pontoon to the lake in the dogdays of summer, the 2022 F-150 Lightning is tested to have customers covered. To help prove it, Ford engineers took the first all-electric F-Series to two of America’s toughest real-world towing routes during development: the—TFLTruck’s Ike Gauntlet in the winter and the Davis Dam in the summer.
Ford engineers took preproduction F-150 Lightnings to what some call the world’s toughest towing test—TFLtruck’s Ike Gauntlet towing test—with windchills registering below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The Ike Gauntlet is an 8-mile stretch of I-70 in Colorado that ascends at a 7% incline to a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level around the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel. The Lightning towed 10,000 pounds up the grade on the coldest day in nearby Boulder in 123 years!
Towing in wintery conditions, however, is only one part of the equation. To prove the truck’s muster towing in extreme heat, Ford took the F-150 Lightning to the extreme grades of Davis Dam. It’s located on State Route 68 between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam, and it ascends from 550 feet elevation to 3,500 feet in 11.4-grueling miles. With ground temperatures reaching a high of 118 degrees Fahrenheit during testing, F-150 Lightning preproduction units towed the same 10,000-pound trailers for multiple loops across the dam.
Between the two locations, their steep continuous inclines, expressway speeds, and trailers in tow—in this case the truck’s targeted maximum 10,000-pound trailers—make them extremely grueling for EV and gas trucks alike. The two testing trips are examples of the hundreds of hours of rigorous towing testing the F-150 Lightning has endured during development.
Ram 1500 Earns Autotrader ‘Best Car Interior Under $50,000’ Nod
T he 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie is celebrating a spot on Autotrader’s list of Best Car Interiors Under $50,000 for 2022, which highlights the best interiors among the most affordable new cars.
“The features and quality of new-car interiors have grown by leaps and bounds over the last several years,” said Brian Moody, executive editor for Autotrader. “Even as new-car prices have increased in the last few years as a result of pandemic-induced supply shortages, car shoppers can rest assured that many of today’s affordable vehicles offer interior features that were available only on luxury vehicles not too long ago.”
The 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie features a standard leather-trim 40/20/40 front bench seat and six-passenger seating. Autotrader cited the Ram 1500 Laramie interior’s balance of boldness and confident elegance, also noting the most striking cabin feature as the shield-shaped center stack that houses the infotainment touchscreen and control array.
Cadillac Celebrates Launch of LYRIQ at Tennessee Assembly Plant
G eneral Motors marks another major milestone in its commitment to an all-electric future as Cadillac formally celebrates the beginning of retail production of the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, assembly plant. GM President Mark Reuss, Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, UAW representatives, plant employees, and other officials joined together today to celebrate this milestone.
GM announced a commitment to invest $2 billion in Spring Hill Assembly in October 2020, and the entire Spring Hill team has worked to prepare for production of the Cadillac LYRIQ. The launch accelerated ahead of schedule, while the team continued to assemble the Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6, and GMC Acadia with world-class quality.
“The Cadillac LYRIQ sets the standard for the future of Cadillac and marks another major milestone in GM’s commitment to an all-electric future,” said Reuss. “This is a monumental day for the entire GM team. We retooled Spring Hill Assembly with the best, most advanced technology in the world and the team worked tirelessly to complete the preparations nine months ahead of the original schedule.”
Reservations for the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ Debut Edition sold out in just over 10 minutes late last summer, and demand continues to grow. Cadillac will begin taking additional orders for the 2023 LYRIQ on May 19.