Ford Asking Texas Dealerships To Loan F-150s To People, Businesses In Need

Texas has had a rough week with several winter storms dumping ice and snow across the state. Not only has travel been hazardous causing a shortage of gas and groceries as trucks struggle on the roads but millions of Texans have gone hours or days without power and water in their homes.

Ford has stepped in and is hoping some of its dealerships in Texas will loan out some of the new F-150s with onboard generators to help bring electricity and heat to homes and businesses who haven’t gotten power back yet.

The automaker sent a letter to dealers this week saying they want to help local communities. Dealerships like Abilene’s Arrow Ford responded saying they will free up a few of the pickups on their lot after one of their employees tested it out and was able to use the truck to generate power after losing electricity.

Tim Witt, General Manager of Marketing, Sales, and Service for Central Market Area, wrote to the dealerships saying:

“First, and most importantly, I hope you, your employees and families are all safe during the unprecedented weather related events of this past week.  Please know our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

As of this morning, there are still hundreds of thousands of Texans that do not have electricity.  I’ve seen stories of families standing in line at shelters and sleeping in vehicles just to stay warm.  I can not imagine what they must be going through. 

One way you may be able to assist your community is providing the use of a New 2021 F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid or F-150s equipped with the ProPower Onboard (option 472 or 477).  Currently, we have over 400 of these F150s in stock in Texas.”

The F-150 is equipped with Pro Power Onboard^™ with 2.4 kilowatts of exportable power on tap at outlets in the cabin and cargo box. The optional 7.2-kilowatt output provides up to 18 times more exportable power than the nearest competitor – enough to power everything from a tailgate event to a construction site.

Depending on the truck and the amount of power being used, it’s reported that a fully gassed F-150 can be used for days. Additionally, the truck can be used as a generator whether stationary or driving. Our thoughts go out to the people of Texas and hoping they can get back on their feet soon.