The Treat: Being Ford Proud
“I love getting to show off Ford stuff,” he said. “It’s part of the joy of the job. Besides the fun of a trunk or treat, I’ll be getting to talk to the parents about the truck. A lot of parents have not seen an electric truck before, and some people may not recognize it when they see it on the street. This will definitely open up a lot of conversations. I’ll get to talk about what we’re doing at Ford and why we’re so excited about these things.”
Last year was McManus’ first time participating at a trunk-or-treat event, and the frunk on his Mach-E was a conversation starter. He expects his new display will get others thinking about the myriad of ways they could utilize an F-150 Lightning. And to make it all even more authentic, he even created a fake patent application for his concept.
“(It) was definitely a highlight last year because people hadn’t really seen it yet and it kicked off some discussion with the parents,” he said, noting that much of the public conversation about EVs relates to charging and is less focused on their added capabilities. “This should get people excited about the possibilities of what the truck can do.”
Typically, McManus and his family utilize the frunk to carry their kids’ sports equipment and for groceries. The truck’s Zone Lighting also comes in handy when soccer fields need a little extra light to continue practice after sunset. He also makes use of Pro Power Onboard to power lawn-care equipment and to charge his son’s go-kart. The USB ports in the frunk also lend themselves to emergency phone charging.
“There’s all these little features that we designed and built into it,” said McManus, who has had the truck, his first pickup, since July. “We’re still just scratching the surface.”