Ford Rolls the Dice With Breakthrough F-150 Aluminum Pickup Truck 521
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."
It's probably necessary (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
And I Will Stop Buying... (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Weight-saving (Score:5, Interesting)
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 [tractorsupply.com]
I put some plywood on the deck and and on the sides.
If you have room to store one, they make great haulers.
Re:Most popular vehicle? Wow... (Score:2, Interesting)
There's a lot of trades people building housing in the US because of the sheer amount of undeveloped land. Being able to put stuff in the back bed is a plus for that sector. Trades people tend to be a bit more independent in the US, many of them work for themselves and have their own tools and supplies they take to a job site. In Europe you have those really tall vans to do that kind of work and likely they would be owned by a company. Those vans are sold here in the US, but unless you need the materials covered most tradesmen see it as a tipping hazard to have a vehicle that tall.
The trucks are also very popular in agriculture, which is the biggest economic sector of the US. There's a lot of stuff you would want to put in the back bed that you wouldn't want to have in the driving compartment.
Most city dwellers do not have trucks. They likely have cars or SUVs. The cars are larger in the US because the roads were built for cars in the first place and the taxes don't penalize the ownership cost. For example, I had some friends stationed in Europe for NATO. They brought their huge Toyota FJ. I asked them if that was an expensive vehicle to drive in Europe. They said no, because of little thing called WWII US military personal are exempt from all gas and vehicle taxes.
Re:20 year old news? (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder when I can get an aluminum Mustang so I can polish it like a P-51.
Sweet.
Have something [trucktrend.com] a little more interesting.
Re:Make it nearly 70 (Score:4, Interesting)
When they first came out, that was true:
(And for my fine foreign friends, that's US ton, 2,000 lb, or 907 kg.)
However, that is no longer true, and the wide variety of sub models makes it even more complicated. Here's a payload capacity chart for the 2014 F-150 [ford.com].
The lowest is an SVT Raptor with only 980 lb payload capacity, while the highest is a staggering 3,120 lb for a regular cab, 4x2 with the heavy duty payload package and a v8 engine! That's a 1.5 ton capacity!
F-250's and F-350's have similar ranges.
Re:Make it nearly 70 (Score:5, Interesting)
No, there are lots of normal tenant farmers who use a Landrover, and as such its pretty much the standard vehicle you see on a British farm other than the usual tractor et al. You can drop the attempt at making it into a rich persons vehicle, as it is far from it - its just a damn good investment, the same as a tractor or other farm tool.
A brand new Landrover Defender will set you back a fair whack, but as they are fairly indestructible you can usually pick up a 30 year old model which will do you nicely on the farm, be easy to repair and still run for the next decade or more with normal maintenance for less than $5000. As its the main vehicle of the British armed forces, there are always surplus vehicles being pensioned off and you can pick these up at auction for less than $5000.
You buy a brand new Defender if you want to pick the exact configuration you want, but most people make do with a second hand one which will run just as nicely.
Re:Make it nearly 70 (Score:4, Interesting)