F150 Alumination

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 01/23/2014 at 12:20 • Filed to: car and driver

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There is a great in depth article on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that digs deeper into the repair costs and other problems associated with the New aluminum skin on the F150.

They brought up something I hadn't even considered: hail. Ouch, given that the southern states are big truck buyers AND prone to hail damage...this could get interesting.

p.s. good shop? (source)

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch 01/23/2014 at 12:25

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It will be interesting if fleet sales will suffer because of insurance rates.

HammerheadFistpunch > For Sweden 01/23/2014 at 12:26

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My main concern is what happens after 1 big hail storm pummels a fleet in Texas...its either go to really change things up at Ford, or a new market for Aluminum repair will appear.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HammerheadFistpunch 01/23/2014 at 12:32

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I wonder though... How susceptible are these new aluminum panels to hail damage?

Also let's look at some of the positives:
- During the time that repair shops can get up to speed, the expensive repairs will be covered under insurance, I'm sure that if any vehicle can bring down the price of aluminum repairs, it's the F-150
- No Rust, aluminum oxidizes, but I imagine it holds up better than traditional steel.
- While the increased MPG's (which we don't know how much better they are), make up for the higher insurance rates?

At the end of the day I have faith in the market to eventually settle at reasonable pricing for the repairs of aluminum.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > HammerheadFistpunch 01/23/2014 at 12:34

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This reminds me of the Y2K bug. A bunch of people running around waving their hands that the sky is falling and then... Nothing.

It is an easy thing to write articles on and get clicks, but the reality is there won't be much effect at all.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 01/23/2014 at 12:35

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It's going to be soooo weird to see 15 yo trucks without rust holes through the bed over the wheels.

HammerheadFistpunch > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/23/2014 at 12:36

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We'll see, if you own a fleet of 200 f150's, a 20% increase in damage makes a big difference, not to mention down time.

erikgrad > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/23/2014 at 12:42

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I agree...they account for the extra cost of the aluminum, but don't account as much for the recycled value of the aluminum. The world's supply of 'clean' aluminum will be diminished, and that could be significant to the materials market as a whole...but I think Ford will find a way to zero this all out for the actual truck owners. Especially since the insurance rate on the F150 was already lower than other trucks.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > erikgrad 01/23/2014 at 13:16

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Ford KNOWS how to release new trucks, I don't think this time will be any different.

Jellybeans works out for them, Ecoboost worked out for them, why shouldn't aluminum?

They haven't made this decision lightly, it's their cash-cow. It HAS to do well.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > HammerheadFistpunch 01/23/2014 at 14:10

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I don't see it being a 20% increase in cost, but I could be wrong. It's not like they don't already have aluminum hoods. There are already aluminum bodied cars, the Range Rover has always had an aluminum body. People do know how to work with aluminum, and more people will figure it out. There are going to be a ton of these sold, body shops will have a huge incentive to be competitive when it comes to fixing dents. And Ford has an incentive to help body shops figure it out too.

A lot of the points brought up in that article are pretty weak. Like the tooling cost. Guess what, if they made the same truck out of steel they would have had just as much tooling cost to convert to the new shape of the sheet metal. Yeah, they will have a some screwing around learning to process it and there will be changes in process parameters and such, but it is the same thing any time they change the shape of the sheet metal. Basically that article was a bunch of hand-waving clickbait IMO.

HammerheadFistpunch > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/23/2014 at 14:17

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If you say so, but I think its going to be a real issue for the next few years. Lets be honest, Ford will sell more F150's this month than the entire land rover/jaguar brand will in a year, and their clientele is decidedly different, and more affluent. Also, if you think that molds are the only tooling change needed in going from steel to Aluminum....you are WAY off. 25% is the current price difference in repair, so 20% in the near term seams reasonable. and on the repair front; its not like there aren't people who how to work with aluminum, its that its harder to work with, no matter what your skill level. Fords partnering with Body shops and retail locations is a good indication that its aware that supply and cost WILL be a problem, a problem worth expensive mitigation in subsidizing the costs. After all, why spend the money if you don't think there is a problem?