Slashdot Mirror
Ford Rolls the Dice With Breakthrough F-150 Aluminum Pickup Truck
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "USA Today reports that Ford's next F-150 pickup truck will be made mostly of aluminum, instead of steel, in a bid to save weight. It will likely either be hailed as a breakthrough product to buyers who've made F-150 the bedrock of its business or one that draws comparisons to a 'rolling beer can.' The automaker has asked Alcoa, which makes aluminum blast shields for battlefield-bound vehicles, to lend some of its military-grade metal for the automaker's display, according to people familiar with Ford's plans. Ford's sales job will be considerable: The company is eager to demonstrate the toughness of aluminum, which is lighter than steel, to pickup buyers at next month's Detroit auto show. 'This is already the most significant debut at the auto show,' says Joe Langley. 'Everybody's going to be dissecting that thing for a long time, especially since Ford will be taking such a big gamble.' As a transformative product with a potentially troublesome introduction, the new F-150 has drawn comparisons with Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner — an aircraft developed under the company's commercial airplane chief at the time, Alan Mulally, who in 2006 became Ford's chief executive officer. Because of the complicated switch to aluminum from steel in the F-150's body, IHS Automotive estimates Ford will need to take about six weeks of downtime at each of its two U.S. truck plants to retool and swap out robots and machinery. Ford is apparently trying to squeeze more than 700 pounds out of its next generation of pickup trucks. Using aluminum to cut weight would help meet rising fuel economy standards in the United States, which is requiring a fleetwide average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025."
http://www.aluminiumleader.com/en/around/transport/cars
http://www.drivers.com/article/245/
http://www.audiworld.com/news/02/aluminum/content1.shtml
Land Rover.
I'll note that my truck has a synthetic 'plastic' bed, it works great, and is probably as tough as a rhinoliner coated steel bed. I'm sure it saves weight/cost.
The failure mechanics of aluminum is different than steel, but it is possible for it to be stronger for the weight. As a bonus, you shouldn't have nearly the rust problems. As usual, I'd be leery of buying the first year's model.
I'm still holding out for my strong hybrid truck though.
I don't read AC A human right
Most people care more about the status symbol of the new shiney, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it used in a series of Dodge/Chevy ads. "Silverado, tough as steel" or some such.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Not speculation by Goldman Sachs but a little scam that they figured out how to do.
Time to offend someone
I can tell that both the designers and people who think this is a great idea don't actually use a pickup for a living. I use a pickup on a ranch, and I use it HARD so that is where I am coming from. The new pickups in the last 10 years just don't last anymore because they are making them lighter and more economical to drive, and they just can't take the abuse that workers put them through on a daily bases.
Of course they do. On the other hand I haven't heard of the F150 on battlefields while Land Rovers have had a lot of military use. Of course they are "for work".
I've been bouncing the idea of a pickup truck for about 10 years. My wife wants an F150 and swears it will be our next car. Until that happens, I have a 4x8 trailer with a 1500lb capacity (I've used it for more on short trips) which I got about 10 years ago new for about $500. It costs nothing for insurance and only $8 a year in personal property taxes. I have a hitch on 2 of my cars. I use it for dirt, mulch, my ATV's, taking stuff to the garbage dump and picking up and transporting large objects materials and large stuff I buy from stores. I'd say overall it averages two uses a month minimum. I don't care about it's condition meaning I don't worry about tossing stuff in it, scratching it, using a shovel on it etc. I could not imagine myself spending $45k on a shiny new truck and taking it to the stock yard and getting a 1/2 yard of gravel dumped in it from a front loader. My trailer? Who cares.
The one I have is similar to this:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/carry-on-trailerreg%3B-5-ft-w-x-8-ft-l-specialty-single-axle-trailer-1500-lb-payload-capacity
I put some plywood on the deck and and on the sides.
If you have room to store one, they make great haulers.
They didn't just have one guy say "hey, let's switch everything over to aluminum and see what happens". They had engineers work on it, they reviewed the costs, forecasted the risks and expected benefits, etc. They know what they are doing. There is little if anything left to chance on this. Most likely they did a number of aluminum prototypes and ran them around on the proving grounds with aluminum versions of existing body panels so as to not draw additional attention.
Big companies like Ford don't just do things like this on a whim, they can't afford to. The American car companies still have the black eye of their quality problems from the 80s and 90s; they are one misstep away from corporate ruin. While the F150 is still the top selling vehicle on the planet, they can't afford to take it for granted or to leave its fate to chance.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
That's just staggering, that this is the most popular vehicle in the USA. It's about the same size/weight as a European 8-seater minibus! And this isn't at all the biggest Ford sell, is it? I've seen things on the motorway there that are almost bus sized.
I use Friend/Foe + mod-point modifiers as a karma/reputation system.
I can tell that both the designers and people who think this is a great idea don't actually use a pickup for a living. I use a pickup on a ranch, and I use it HARD so that is where I am coming from. The new pickups in the last 10 years just don't last anymore because they are making them lighter and more economical to drive, and they just can't take the abuse that workers put them through on a daily bases.
Independent studies place the F150 basically equal (depending on which metric) in durability with the Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500. If you are wearing out your trucks it might be time you look in to the 250 (or higher) series. The 150 series trucks from each of the manufacturers are designed to match their usual working demands - most people who buy them live in the city and drive them mostly on the road. The most common cargo (in this country especially) in the bed of a pickup is air.
The 150 trucks are designed mostly for the urban handyman who occasionally pulls around and launches his own fishing boat on the weekend. They're good trucks but don't try to overstate their purpose.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit
Useful graph. The wording "no limit" can be a bit confusing to people who haven't done a materials course. In this case, having a limit is good.
The 1948 Land Rover had an aluminium body and so has all of it's direct "descendants" up to the current Land Rover Defender.
I don't know why people here see fit to "correct" stuff they don't know about.
The first Land Rovers where built out of left overs from the war. England had a lot of aluminum for aircraft construction but where building few aircraft.
Steel has some real benefits for car bodies like the fact that is is more springy than aluminum, it will flex a little and bounce back it is also easier to weld and tends to be harder. It is also stronger for a given thickness.
Aluminum is much more corrosion resistant and stronger per mass.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.