GM vs. Ford: The QB's of Electric Vehicles
The Rodgers / Brady / Maholmes dynamic and the electric rivalry
Pickup trucks are like the quarterback of the automotive industry - they set the tone and ultimately rule the day as the king of the road. Ford’s F Series, Ram Pickup and Chevrolet’s Silverado were the three top grossing vehicles sold in 2021, besting any other car on the road. Considering GM and Ford collectively have sold over 1.5mm trucks every year for the last eight years, the opportunity for electric dominance lies in the hands of whomever delivers the top electric pickup and consistently improve the brand.
Tesla might be the Patrick Maholmes of the automotive industry, aka the most exciting car we’ve ever seen that has somehow defied all odds on its trot to the top of America’s heart. While Tesla and Maholmes have received most of the love and fanfare the last few years as the explosive newcomer, we hope the best is yet to come and that with age they’ll prove to deserve the refined respect earned by a decades worth of performance. The big determinant will be whether or not Tesla can impress and garner interest for its cybertruck. Until then we must turn to the legends of the sport - the true automotive legends Ford (Tom Brady) and GM (Aaron Rodgers) to see where the electric future lies.
Tom Brady embodies the American dream and in his sleep he’s driving a Ford F150. Ford is going electric and unlike its competition, Ford is taking the retrofit approach - same body, new guts. Ford is taking its classic, best selling, F series body and removing its gas powered engine for the new lithium ion battery bed. This is a prudent move as the country boy and wilderness seeking folk will still look at the new F150 with twinkles in their eyes for its rugged body and calloused hands but hopefully embrace its new electric guts. The marketing and positioning remains “America’s car” with commercials showcasing construction job sites and picket fence toting American families eating dinner together. The bi-directional charging gives the added advertising benefit of showing the F150 electric powering a home in a blackout or powering an electric wood chipper out in the middle of the woods. If Ford doesn’t equal America then I don’t know what does.
GM however is taking the opposite approach - a brand new body, frame, and insides for its new electric pickup truck. It’s as if GM decided it wanted to switch high schools in 10th grade and used the opportunity to go on a diet and dye its hair blonde to impress upon its new classmates that it’s a whole new entity ready to party. GM reminds us of Aaron Rodgers a bit as he shuns his old ways and seeks out bad boy status with his long flowing hair saying, “IDGAF about who you thought I was, I’m going to reinvent myself.” While consistently overshadowed by Ford’s looming reputation, GM shows up day in and day out and there’s no denying its impressive performance on the four wheel drive. GM’s new electric pickup is going to be the beautiful darling at the dance with its sleek new body, rounded face and electrified shpilkes - ready to boogie.
2022 and 2023 will be the year that we see these three behemoths square off for who can be the prom king for America’s future.