Aluminum body on the next F-150?!?!?

[KaiserM715]

Second repost merged....

Did anyone here read about this today on the Wall Street Journal? The question I'm asking myself is whether these changes will apply to the 2014 Raptor.

Ford Plans New F-150 Pickup Truck With Aluminum Body - WSJ.com

 

[6.2]

I HIGHLY doubt Ford is going into this blindly. Think about it, are they really gonna risk having the top selling vehicle in the world come crashing down because of a new material they are considering? I dont think so. Something tells me they've done their homework, and if it works out for the best, then its another game changer. Dont be surprised if the new 2015 mustang will be aluminum as well.

Exactly.

 

[MTUH3]

Hummer is a mix of Al and Steel, it has done OK, but most of the joints are riveted, not welded. Steel and Al part interfaces are painted or coated for the most part to limit corrosion. Don't quote me but I think there are certain areas of the truck that need to be steel, so I don't think you will see an entire body of Al.

 

[mmp]

Ford is now saying they didn't say anything of the sort:

Ford: Reports of more aluminum on F-150 'premature' | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

 

[MTUH3]

beat me to it. I was just reading that

 

[Wheela]

well there we go

 

[f16YODA]

Anyone want to take odds that this was a "leak" by someone at Ford to test reaction?

 

[ISFast]

I'm betting with you Yoda

 

[linexsa]

i dont think it was for test reaction. like they said in the last article posted, ford has been using aluminum body panels on the current trucks. they were just talking about using more of them for the next truck. if you ever go to price an F150 hood they are REDICULOUS in price because they are aluminum. They are hard to dent, but expensive to PDR if they do get dented. I bet they will make more "disposable" type parts (hoods, doors, bedsides, etc) out of aluminum. these days the body shops dont usually repair these type of panels, they remove them, install new ones, and repaint. this would keep from having the expensive aluminum body working equipment.

 

[Aidan]

4th not sure if the corrosion will be better or not. Mixing Iron (frame, current 6.2 engine block...) and Al can cause galvanic corrosion. Throw the fact that both the body and frame are the ground for the trucks electrical system and now you have something akin to sacrificial anode.

While I hate to use a British car as an example of reliability the old series Land Rovers worked just fine with aluminum bodies. Between paint and insulating body mounts, I highly doubt you'd be able to create much of a galvanic cell.