Benzinga - The F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck from Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has become one of the bestselling electric vehicles in a short amount of time. The demand for the pickup truck may have surpassed the company’s own expectations, with supply now under pressure.
The F-150 Lightning has many features, including an extended-range battery that can power a house for more than a day.
Another feature of the F-150 Lightning is its “frunk,” or front trunk. The term often associated with electric vehicles, as there is a smaller electric motor that is usually housed somewhere else in the vehicle rather than taking up the majority of the front portion of the vehicle where a traditional internal combustion engine would be located.
A new report from the Detroit Free Press highlights how parents are using the frunk of the F-150 Lightning for diaper changing, an unexpected benefit and practically use for long road trips.
“I’ll be honest, when my husband said we’d be getting a truck, I said, ‘We don’t need a truck. What are we going to do with a truck? We don’t have a farm,’” Emily Jahnert told the Free Press. “But it’s like a living room on wheels.”
Jahnert said she travels on long trips with her 13-month-old daughter for doctor’s appointments and is utilizing the frunk for diaper changes.
Jahnert and her husband find the frunk of the Ford vehicle to be spacious and protected from view.
“Having that space in that vehicle, especially with (MacKenzie) being premature, and avoiding any public areas and being able to do it in the truck on the go, it’s not only peace of mind but super convenient and a little bit fun.”
For years, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been known for its frunks in its electric vehicles. One person interviewed by the Free Press notes the frunk of the Ford vehicle is flat and doesn’t dip down like a frunk on a Tesla vehicle.
“The Tesla design is different. It’s more of a storage compartment where it sits kind of deep in the well,” Andrea Zebron said.
Related Link: Jimmy Fallon Debuts New Junk In My Frunk Song To Highlight Key Feature Of Electric Vehicles
Why It’s Important: The use of a frunk as a diaper changing station may not make a dent in the sales figures for electric vehicles. The added utility of this item that is often exclusive to electric vehicles could be another selling point for automakers.
The COVID-19 pandemic and emphasis cleanliness and sanitation may also play into deciding whether to take kids into public restrooms and search for diaper changing stations.
Family psychologist Jeff Gardere told the Free Press that anxiety about the safety of young children is an important issue for parents.
“We went through the hassle of bringing kids into gas stations and rest stops or pulling off to the side of the road and changing diapers,” Gardere said. “If you’re a parent like me, you’re concerned about cleanliness. Since the pandemic, parents are finding different ways to do things.”
The frunk is being used for new tailgating opportunities at sporting events and also changing the game for Halloween “trunk or treats” allowing the front of the vehicle to be used.
Tesla Popularizes The Frunk: Ford launched an advertising campaign called “What’s In The Frunk?” in 2022 that highlighted the frunks of its Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.
Benzinga reported at the time that it is Tesla and CEO Elon Musk who are credited with making the term frunk popular. Early Tesla Model S vehicles featured huge frunks that could easily fit multiple people inside, something that brought increased attention to Tesla.
Tesla doesn’t own a copyright on the term, but might not be happy with Ford using the term or being increasingly associated with use cases for the frunk it made famous.
Many will remember “Floki Frunkpuppy,” a 2021 tweet from Musk of his dog inside the frunk of a Tesla vehicle that went viral and sent the prices of several dog-based cryptocurrencies soaring.
The Last Word: For companies making electric vehicles, the utility of the frunk could be another key selling point and marketing tool to help with the continued conversion of consumers shifting towards electrification.
For anyone who has ever changed a diaper in the trunk or backseat of a vehicle, this new utility likely hits close to home.
Read Next: Ford's F-150 Lightning Pickup Beats GM, Toyota For MotorTrend's 'Truck Of The Year'
Photo courtesy of Ford.
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