Ford's Trade-In: Truck to Use Aluminum in Place of Steel

WSJ ^ | 07/26/2012 | MIKE RAMSEY

[Responsibility2nd]

ALLEN PARK, Mich.

[Responsibility2nd]

This is a very good article. It's long, but it outlines the risks Ford is taking with their best seller - the F150.

And just why are they taking this chance? The answer is given in the excerpt.

[C210N]

A mock-up of the new aluminum lightweight-by-700 lb car...

[null and void]

Along with the aluminum makeover, the new F-150 also is getting a more muscular look, according to one Ford designer.

If you can't actually make it Ford Tough, make it look Ford Tough...

[cripplecreek]

[Sacajaweau]

Stopping time?? Huge loss of friction....

We put some extra pounds in the trunk in winter time.

[Red Badger]

Well, as long a the fender wells say “Body By Budweiser” on the inside’ it’ll sell......

[Surrounded_too]

Similar to what Germany employed to circumvent the tonnage restrictions imposed especially upon them by the 1926 bilateral arms ‘agreement”.

This brought you the so-called ‘Pocket Battleship” the Bismarck, among others.

They sacrificed armour for speed. But guns are faster than ships and it took a pounding and sank.

[foundedonpurpose]

UPS has been using Aluminum for years, and is now looking at plastic.

http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/06/ups-trucks-made-of-ultra-light-material.html

[DannyTN]

Do they even think they make an aluminum that is as tough as steel?

[cripplecreek]

Stopping time?? Huge loss of friction....

I leaned that lesson in a hurry some years ago when I bought a Festiva. Anti lock brakes and all and it still slid on dry pavement in a hard stop.

[Repeal The 17th]

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

If those things crash and catch on fire, I bet they will burn hotter than the surface of the sun.

[HereInTheHeartland]

I instantly thought of New Coke when I read this. They will make a colossal mistake and do great harm to their brand if they do this in my opinion

[cableguymn]

plus convince die-hard pickup buyers that aluminum is as tough as steel.

---

It’s not... steel and aluminum don’t mix. Salt eats it worse than steel.

But the truck will be lighter... It might cost them the “longest lasting pick up in America” title.

Guess if I want a new ford I better buy it before the switch.

[ozzymandus]

Bismarck wasn’t a “pocket battleship. Just the opposite, it was a full-sized battleship with increased armor protection. Germany had disgarded the restrictions by the time Bismarck was launched. German warship theory was heavier armor and smaller, more accurate guns. Had they been able to produce sufficient numbers of ships, this might have worked. Bismarck wasn’t sunk by the British which reall pissed them off to this day. She was pounded into a useless hulk, but still floated until her own crew scuttled her. The Brits got their revenge for Bismarck sinking the Hood by leaving over 1,000 German survivors to drown. Fair play and all that, eh, chaps? Naturally, they have a different version.

[BipolarBob]

If those things crash and catch on fire, I bet they will burn hotter than the surface of the sun.

You're just looking at the negative side. Look on the positive side - Alcoa closed at $8.45/shr today. Buy, buy, buy!!

[ExCTCitizen]

The Ford F150, if they do it correctly, could be a hit. The reason is the CAFE standard, but FORD will make a truck that AMERICANS will buy.

[I see my hands]

[Hodar]

On the plus side, no worries about rust in the wheel well or fenders. Sound-wise, Aluminum should aborb and “deaden” any road noise. From a crash-worthines perspective, Aluminum should have minimal rebound, thus absorb the damage better than steel.

On the down side - depending upon how Ford impliments this, the body could be too week for regular heavy use, and painting Aluminum is going to be an issue.

[matt04]

How long before GM and Chrysler get a waver and/or loophole in millage requirements to be able to build a steel bodied truck?