Frunk or treat! Finding new ways to appreciate the Ford Lightning

Honestly, there’s not much to say here that isn’t covered by the visual, but I’ll try anyway. As luck would very much not have it (I planned for this), I was scheduled to have a Ford Lightning at the same time as my son’s pre-school’s Trunk or Treat event last Friday. It was a perfect match that had people doing double takes. 

The most obvious part of the appeal was the Lightning’s frunk, and my ability to park the truck in the opposite direction of every other car (Admittedly, a Porsche 911 or 718 and a Corvette would’ve worked for the same reason). There’s also the unexpected nature of it. We were chatting with the mother parked next to us for a good 15 minutes before she suddenly realized our truck was parked the wrong way. 

“Wait, is the engine underneath there?” she asked, clearly confused as she looked beyond the light-up Wee Death and giant pumpkin. 

“Nope, no engine at all. Totally electric.” 

Other attendees were more in-the-know, and wanted to know more about what I thought of “my” Lightning. Sometimes I corrected their assumption, other times not depending on their perceived degree of actual interest (a common automotive journalist issue), but I always answered in the overwhelming affirmative. I love the Lightning!

I also love its Pro Power onboard electrical outlets, of which there are four in the frunk. That was another reason I wanted the Lightning: I could plug in Wee Death and Halloween twinkle lights. A fog machine really would’ve put it over the top, but that also seemed excessive for a pre-school party at 4:30. I originally had the thought of repurposing my front lawn’s Halloween inflatable and plugging it into the bed’s Pro Power outlets (party in the back and front!), but as you might’ve noticed from my recent Luggage Tests, my skeleton hearse is rather enormous and its 14-foot length greatly exceeds the Lightning’s bed. I really need a giant spooky tree or something. Oh well, maybe next year!

All told, yet another reason to love our 2021 Technology of the Year award winner, as well as the Ford Lightning in general. It’s both wildly competent and packed with interesting features that are equal parts useful and novel.