GM To Produce Aluminum Body Pickups, Secures Alcoa and Novelis As Suppliers

by Phillip Thomas

Published: February 18th, 2014

gm to produce aluminum body pickups secures alcoa and novelis as suppliers

The Wall Street Journal today announced that GM is planning on producing aluminum-bodied pickups for the next generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, due for 2018. This comes on the heels of Ford moving the 2015 F150 to an all-aluminum body, with around 97% of the body structure being aluminum (Including the load floor of the bed), which Ford claims has saved 700 pounds off the curbweight of the F150. GM plans to weld panels together as opposed to Ford’s riveted and bonded aluminum panels, to seek further weight savings.

General Motors has secured supply contracts with Alcoa Inc. and Novelis Inc. for their next-generation pickups. Alcoa will also supply aluminum for Ford’s upcoming ’15 F150.

GM’s global product development chief, Mark Reuss, hinted at considering aluminum-bodied pickups last month:

“We need to see how much aluminum is in it, not what they say is in it but what is actually in it,” Mr. Reuss said the night before Ford introduced its truck. “We are going to look at what they advertise as the weight savings from it and then we are going to go back and do some math… We can play this game real easily.”

Sources familiar with GM’s plans tell the WSJ that rather than using riveting and bonding like Ford, GM has developed a process that uses multi-ringed electrodes to weld the aluminum panels, eliminating a considerable amount of rivets from the production process, reducing weight and assembly time. It takes much less time for a machine to weld panels (be it spot or bead welds) than riveting panels together. This process is already used in smaller aluminum panels, like the aluminum hood of the Cadillac CTS-V, the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the last-generation hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs.

The alleged move to aluminum for GM represents a major shift in the pickup segment: for the first time in memory, fuel economy is the prime focus, rather than payload, towing or power. For GM, the move to aluminum can be construed as a tacit admission that their evolutionary approach to their new full-sizers is not adequate. Sales of the new trucks have been disappointing, with inventories approaching 151 days.

#Alcoa #Aluminum #Chevrolet #GMC #Novelis #Sierra #Silverado

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Buickman on Feb 19, 2014

this move to aluminum is radical and GM is wise to see how it goes for Ford first. I'm not hearing a lot of customer enthusiasm, unlike Ram's half ton Diesel.

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- Phillip Thomas on Feb 19, 2014
  
  Lets be honest, that's because most of the general public is ignorant. To the end user, as long as the load areas hold up to "normal" abuse, then they'll never notice the difference... other than a lighter, more fuel efficient truck.
  
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- KixStart on Feb 19, 2014
  
  @Phillip Thomas It will make more difference to Jack and Jill Homeowner, who want the F-150 Office Worker Edition. They'll like the fuel savings aluminum can yield, they're not really worried about the durability and they're not buying fleet specials, so their transaction prices are good. Hmmm... if I was Alan Mullaly... I'd consider keeping the F-150 "Classic" in production for a while for fleets.
  
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- CJinSD on Feb 19, 2014
  
  @Phillip Thomas Let's be honest. Most of the general public that can swing $45K transaction price pickups is smart enough to know that the repairability and insurance cost issues are far from settled. Only a few years ago, Ford taught its buyers about galvanic corrosion. Audi buyers have learned that repairing an A8 can be a logistical headache in any but the largest markets for the car. Buyers of most new vehicles are aging, and many of them have weathered past technological revolutions that have bitten early adopters. I don't think this word ignorance means what you think it means.
  
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Wmba on Feb 19, 2014

To those worried about the high energy cost to smelt aluminum from bauxite: it generally only happens once. Aluminum is cheap and easy to recycle and doesn't rust away to dust like iron/steel when lelt to moulder. Remelting scrap steel is far more energy intensive due to the higher temperatures required, and ts relative lack of thermal conductivity. About a 12 to 1 ratio. Of course GM is going to weld their aluminum. Their mission is to raise welding standards for hundreds of thousands of body repair men nationwide who will become experts at disguising warps with bondo. Ford is relying on tin-snips and rivets plus packages of super epoxy. I think I know which is more practical. The general tone of the comments here is familiar: highly conservative. Apparently brighter than the automotive structural engineer they assume they know better based on sticking a wet finger up in the air, sensing the wind direction and nodding wisely, "Ah, it be a treacherous aluminum tempest a-comng, Davey me lad! Pray to the dear Lord for it to abate to an iron oxide gale."

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- Phillip Thomas on Feb 19, 2014
  
  It'll depend where Ford uses riveting and bonding, and where GM plans to fully seam weld. Other than bedsides, there's not much on a truck that's not a bolt-on body panel, and most everything else is spot welded and/or glued (Think cab corners, etc) already. Doors, front fenders, bumpers, hoods, tail gate -- all are bolt-on panels that won't need any real special attention. The only place where the rivet-n-bonding method vs. welding would be a concern is in the cab. At the very worst, what little welding a body shop will do only effects a small part of the visible exterior sheet metal: the rear pillar and rockers. I would expect the bedsides to be bonded as usual for ease of replacement.
  
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- Onus on Feb 19, 2014
  
  @Phillip Thomas I know fords of the late 90's early 2000's had unbolt able bed skins (not sure if they still have this). Wish my 1990 had that. I'd put a new one on in a heartbeat.
  
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- Shaker on Feb 20, 2014
  
  “Ah, it be a treacherous aluminum tempest a-comng, Davey me lad! Pray to the dear Lord for it to abate to an iron oxide gale.” Consider the possible beneficial side-effects: More demand for aluminum drives prices up; beer cans become thinner yet, but much easier to crush, even on one's forehead. Result: Men appear even more manly, beer cans take up even less space in recycling bin, thus resulting in more efficient transport to recycling point. (FTW!)
  
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