Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) began its bet on pickups with partial aluminum bodies with its best-selling F-150. That gamble will extend to its Super Duty product, which is much bigger and carries much heavier loads. The basis of the Ford decision is that aluminum is light, and that cuts gas mileage.
Source: courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
The decision moves the use of aluminum from a popular vehicle that sells across a very broad spectrum of American drivers to a niche model, one that weighs more and targets more people who use trucks for heavy lifting, towing and hauling. Whether these drivers will accept a truck made of something less that all steel is a question that remains open. Ford has had recent success with the aluminum F-150, after sales lagged early in the year. Ford says now that production of the new F-150 has hit its stride, sales will begin to explode. The proof of that will be in the second half of the year.
Ford describes the new product:
The backbone is an all-new, fully boxed frame comprised of more than 95 percent high-strength steel that offers up to 24 times stiffer than the previous frame — enabling the most towing and hauling capability ever delivered by Super Duty. The new truck line features heavier-duty four-wheel-drive components, driveline, axles and towing hardware.
For the first time, the Super Duty body uses high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy, which is more dent- and ding-resistant than the outgoing steel body and not subject to red rust corrosion.
Together, high-strength steel and high-strength aluminum alloy help reduce weight by up to 350 pounds while Ford is reinvesting additional weight savings everywhere it counts, to give customers more towing and hauling capability than ever before.
Super Duty chassis cab features an all-new, high-strength steel frame with an open-C-channel design behind the cab to enable easy aftermarket body upfit and modification
Steel has not been abandoned altogether.
The two products have one thing in common. They test the demand for trucks that are not made of traditional materials. Ford believes that consumers will like a gas-saving material, and perhaps one that is stronger than steel, as a reason to buy trucks. Or, just as important, loyal Ford buyers won’t care.
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