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100K+ Pre-Orders for Lordstown’s Pickup a Shocker

Lordstown Motors announced on Monday that they had exceeded 100,000 pre-orders for their Endurance light-duty, all-electric pickup, slated to begin production in September.

Lordstown Motors

While we covered the Endurance previously, we didn’t pay homage to where it’s being assembled. Lordstown has a long history as the place where Chevrolet and Pontiac vehicles came together. The Vega, Monza, Cavalier, Cobalt, Cruze, and Pontiacs like the Sunbird and Sunfire were made in the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Lordstown Motors

Looked upon as the place where high-volume, low-margin price leaders were constructed, integrity wasn’t an issue. Driving a Sunbird on the I-880 Freeway near Oakland, California, when traffic came to a halt, the Lincoln Continental driver hadn’t noticed until it was too late, hitting the Pontiac and folding it up like an accordion. While the car was totaled, I emerged without a scratch, thanks to the men and women of Lordstown.

Keeping that in mind, it’s understandable why Lordstown founder and CEO, Steve Burns, chose this assembly plant to create the Endurance. A dedicated workforce comprised of experienced laborers, technicians, and engineers, Lordstown was in operation from 1966 to 2019 under GM’s aegis, then idled for what workers would call a changeover. Lordstown Motors bought the 785-acre, 6.2-million square foot facility to manufacture the world’s first full-size, all-electric pickup for commercial fleet use.

Burns said, “Receiving 100,000 pre-orders from commercial fleets is unprecedented in automotive history. Adding the interest we have received from federal, state, municipal and military fleets on top of that, I think you can see why we feel that we are about to revolutionize the pickup truck industry.”

The Endurance is a full-size, all-electric pickup with a projected range of 250 miles, the equivalent of 600 horsepower, and the ability to tow up to 7,500 pounds. The Endurance will initially come in a crew cab configuration with a medium-length bed, priced at $45,000 after federal rebate. With prototype and alpha builds concluded, Lordstown’s first beta Endurance vehicles are being built, and the company says it’s on track to start production in September.

We’ve not received an invitation to test drive an Endurance, nor to put one through its paces at Holly Oaks Off-Highway Vehicle Park near Detroit, but we’re standing by just in case.

[Images: Lordstown Motors]

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