Blindspots? On a truck? No way! My F150 has plenty of them. That's what cameras are for. I back trailers with mirrors and the camera.
I think the Lightning could be much more aerodynamic with out trying too hard. Ford is going for parts commonality and they have said that. Just look at the "shifter".
I like the Lightning plenty but it is what it is.

 

This shifter has me really baffled. I know it is just carry over and I know that it makes almost the perfect hand rest, but otherwise I just don't see the need for it. It is a lot of parts and even a motor to go bad. Easily reduce the cost by a few hundred by eliminating it.

 

Cameras don't show you the vehicles in the lane next to you while you are driving down the highway. At least, the ones on your F150 don't.

 

This is the innovation we are afraid we'll lose without Tesla. Tesla never had them either until about 2 months back, but it was added to all cars sold for the last 3 years, with a software update. Turn your blinker on to change lanes - it will activate the side camera and give you about a 2" x 3" picture of your side/blind spot right on the main screen. On the pickup they could put it on the dash, but will they? No I think Ford is still too stodgy. I'm hoping there are enough Tesla owners buying a truck to help put some pressure on Farley to make changes like this.

I like that he has been active communicating even if on Twitter, but it is no secret he is still chasing Tesla at this point in the EV world. Competition is good - both ways.

 

We'll see.

But, blind spots are relevant even if there is a camera that shows you a view of the side with your blinker on. Being able to just turn your head and see is still superior to not.

We had a Honda minivan (years old now) that had that same thing, turn signal on and see side view in center display. It's nice, but, it's not a direct replacement for a strong field of view straight up from the driver's seat

RE: A-pillar placement

 

Eventually driving will become obsolete. At least driving for work and utility. We’ll drive for fun, those of us who care. Cameras with detection are better, can “see” 360, do not get tired, upset, in arguments etc. Until then, for those of us too used with our reflexes, just put screens where the mirrors used to be.
Audi has a solution with screens just below the side mirrors, on the inside of the door. Any added safety system than relying on constant attention from a human is better. I read somewhere that human error causes 90% of accidents, and yet another fun statistic is that 80% of drivers believe that they are better than the median 😀

The reality is, we’re quite terrible drivers, eliminating or greatly reducing human errors would save countless lives.

 

Eliminating the use of cell phones while driving would save "countless" more.

 

Too many people think they are good enough to get away with it. Then suddenly they aren't.

In general driving needs to be treated much more like a privilege and much less like a guaranteed Right. Driver licenses are too easy to get and too difficult to lose.

Following speed limits would also save countless lives.

Simple active consistent enforcement of existing traffic laws would save thousands of lives, at least, annually.


The catch: those things require people actively participate. Hardware built into vehicles to help them avoid collisions autonomously do not.

 

Very true. The problem with many of the safety nannies is it gives "certain" types of people the idea they can goof off even more, while driving, because the vehicle will "save me"...

Until vehicles become 100% autonomous, the idiots will continue to screw it up for everyone.

 

Eliminate the console shifter and don't even replace it with a ****, you're not saving a few hundred, or a hundred, or even half that. I'd bet the ****, motor, and wiring cost Ford no more than $7.


None of the vehicles Tesla has produced to date have the blindspots of the cybertruck.

If you think cameras are the solution, pull a trailer with a panel van for a week. Cameras are a great aid, but they cannot replace the directional and distance calculation your brain performs with direct view of objects.