Ford Super Dutys To Follow F-150 Toward Aluminum Future
A new aluminum age is about to dawn on Truck Mountain when its ruler, the Ford F-150, adopts the alloy for its new body in 2015. However, the revolution may not stop there if the Blue Oval has anything to say about it.
Automotive News reports KGP Photography spy photographer Brian Williams happened upon an F-350 prototype at an undisclosed testing facility in Colorado, where he applied a magnet upon the truck’s bed to discover a lack of attraction. KGP associate Glenn Paulina adds:
If they’re using aluminum here, in the key punishment-point of a heavy-duty work truck, it stands to reason that aluminum is being used throughout the rest of the Super Duty prototypes — just as they have on the 2015 Ford F-150.
The tactic discovered by Williams was first acknowledged by Ford earlier this year when it did the same to the F-150, providing six prototypes to its best commercial customers for a two-year pilot program where only the automaker knew what was behind the cab.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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So much of what is being done in the name of fuel economy is either frivolous or has long term reliability and serviceability issues. Aluminum can be a winner though. Now for an aluminum Wrangler ...
Anybody ever rent one of those Home Depot F-350s? They have this cool aluminum bead where the sides flip down. The beds look fine, and I'm sure are used hard when they are rented for work duty.
@pragmatist - targeting pickups and commercial units net much greater gains in fuel savings and emissions reductions than targeting cars.
Class 3 and over pickups will facing some challenges in the future, but not as harshly as the Class 1 (midsizers) and 2 pickups (1/2 ton) under CAFE. HD's currently are not required to meet the EPA regulations, this will be a requirement at MY18. Similar to the US tow standards, "meet the standards if you want scenario". It seems diesel powered HD's will be hit much harder than gasoline HD's. HD diesel pickups are required to make a 50% greater FE improvement over gas. So, it does appear the US is penalising diesel powered vehicles. So, as well as aluminium are we also going to see smaller Powerstrokes? It seems Nissan with the Titan and Toyota might be delaying the introduction of their newly slated Class 3 pickups with diesels. This might be to reduce the improvement required from their diesels. Aluminium will make these trucks more expensive as well. This is a real pity. If regulations push up the cost of stepping into a HD and the US signs a FTA with the EU, will the chicken tax be dropped? Will the US receive some of the alternative style of trucks that the EU uses. I can see Transits especially flat beds, stepping in to fill some of the void. This style of vehicle will be attractive to a business where towing is limited to a few tonnes or less. The Transits can carry a HD load, but will have smaller and more efficient engines to use, ie, the 3.2 Duratorque diesel and slightly de-tuned EcoBoost. The US light commercial vehicle segment is becoming more interesting everyday. Manufacturers are coming up with different ideas, and I don't think aluminium will win out.