Wicked winter weather cut power to millions in Texas this week.

Millions of Texas residents faced perilously low temperatures this week as wicked weather knocked out power across the state. The frigid temperatures sent people seeking hotels, warming shelters, and refuge, as those that could help did, including Ford. According to Automotive News, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker on Thursday asked its retailers in Texas to loan out 2021 F-150 pickups with onboard generators to those in need.

When Ford redesigned the F-150 for the 2021 model year, it added a host of new technologies and features, one of which was the onboard generator. Ford advertised that the product could power a host of things needed for a construction site, tailgate party, or weekend movie night in the backyard. It’s also capable of powering other essential equipment such as furnaces and heaters, TVs, and minifridges, and that’s with the least-powerful generator the F-150 offers, too.

Gallery: 2021 Ford F-150

The entry-level onboard generator – a 2.0-kilowatt unit – is available with every gas engine except the base one. Hybrid F-150s sport a larger 2.4-kW generator as standard equipment, though customers can opt for the even larger 7.2-kW unit. Ford says the 2.4-kW unit can run for up to 85 hours under max load with a full tank of gas. Automotive News interviewed one owner who opted for the 7.2-kW unit in preparation for the hurricane season. He used it to power his home appliances and to give his neighbors a place to charge their devices.

Ford had 415 generator-equipped F-150s on its dealer lots in Texas yesterday, though those are likely already accounted for. Ford enticed dealers to participate by offering five stores the chance to receive five additional F-150s to sell. Late last year, a report found that dealers had orders pilling up for the new pickup while those that reached the showroom floors were selling within hours in some cases.

Source:

Automotive News

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