Ford's front trunk has become a novelty within the automotive industry.Courtesy of manufacturer
If you are the sort of person who fetishizes closet space, you are going to be very excited about Ford’s latest contribution to maximum storage.
The company recently announced that the fully electric 2022 F-150 Lighting will boast a “Mega Power Frunk,” a huge space at the front of the pickup where you used to find the combustion engine. The frunk, or front trunk, has 400 litres of cargo space, and it was developed by Ford’s user-experience team with cardboard-and-glue modelling to conceptualize consumer desire for more storage space.
According to a press release, the Lightning’s frunk “is a huge space with multiple power sources and ample room for two golf bags.”
“The F-150 Lightning pickup’s ‘Mega Power Frunk’ is one of those features that reshape what vehicles can provide for customers,” F-150 Lightning chief program engineer Linda Zhang stated. “Its sheer size, ample power supply, drainable floor and open and close system that opens with the touch of a button make it frunking awesome!”
Ford has shared a video chronicling the invention from cardboard concept to actual frunk. Pickup drivers love hauling stuff. The ‘Mega Power Frunk’ will allow them to load all sorts of material in the back while cramming other objects into the front. It’s the mullet of automobile storage spaces – business in the front, party in the back.
Look, the ‘Mega Power Frunk’ is a very cool creation (though it would have been cooler if they had named it the ‘Mega Excellent Adventure Power Frunk’). There’s lots of space, four power outlets, two USB ports, and a drain plug for a cooler. It can support up to 180 kilograms (400 pounds) of payload. But let’s be honest, the ‘Mega Power Frunk’ is not exactly a triumph of imagination. You didn’t have to be a design engineer to dream it up.
Imagine the “eureka” moment at Ford’s offices.
“The EV F150 doesn’t have an engine in the front any more.”
“Oh.”
“We could put a trunk there.”
“Yes! We can call it the Trunt.”
“The Trunt?”
“Yeah, the trunk front.”
“We’ll call it the Frunk.”
If Ford really wanted to make waves, it would put something fantastic in place of the engine, something that would blow the mind of your average pickup driver. Two golf bags? That don’t impress me much.
You know what would be “frunking awesome?” If Ford put a fully equipped barbecue in the frunk. Other manufacturers are already on it. It. In January, 2022, Rivian is scheduled to deliver the 2022 R1T all-electric pickup truck loaded with the Camp Kitchen feature, which includes a small countertop, a two-burner induction cooktop, a collapsible sink with a spray faucet, and a 15-litre water tank.
The frunk is big enough to accommodate a Jacuzzi. That would impress pickup drivers, but I don’t see a “Mega Power Frunk Jacuzzi” in Ford’s news release.
The average human being is only 48 litres. In other words, the ‘Mega Power Frunk,’ with its 400 litres, would make a great mobile home office. On the road and need some privacy for a Zoom meeting? Climb into the ‘Mega Power Frunk,’ plug in your laptop and meet away. Conversely, the ‘Mega Power Frunk’ could function as an isolation chamber for quiet meditation and self-actualization.
The ‘Mega Power Frunk’ is a great feature, but Ford shouldn’t go overboard with the self-congratulations. It put a trunk where the engine used to be and it added some power outlets, USB ports and a drain. F-150 Lightning drivers will have a blast coming up with wild ways to enjoy these goodies. Tailgating will take on a whole new meaning.
But Ford didn’t frunking split the atom.
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Andrew Clark