The 2015 F-150: More Than Just Metal?

"Tom McParland" (tommcparland) 02/06/2014 at 11:12 • Filed to: Ford F-150, America, Truck Yeah

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Like many of you I seem to be the "go to" guy for family, friends, and co workers when they want an opinion about the automotive world. Over the past month the question that has come up the most is…"So what do you think about the new F-150?" My response is, "It's a nice truck but the lights look weird."... "But what about the aluminum?" they say, "Do you think it will be strong enough?"

I tell them that I do think that switching to aluminum is a gamble, but I am confident that the droves of Ford engineers have found a way to make the lighter metal work just fine for AMERICAS BEST SELLING VEHICLE! However, despite my examples regarding advances in high strength aluminum being used in other passenger cars, the Space Shuttle, and motorsports, many folks are still not convinced.

Maybe there is something deeper at work regarding this skepticism. After all, Americans for the most part have faith in technological progress. No one panicked when Apple made the Air notebook? No one said, "Will it still be able to compute? Go on the internet? Get me to Facebook?" So that is not the greatest example, we are used to our gadgets getting lighter. But not our trucks. Trucks are supposed to be heavy, because heavy equals strength.

And this is what we imagine when we think of our trucks...a vehicle that can do anything. The pickup truck is a symbol of American strength and fortitude, it represents our ability to "get things done."

Think back to history, what else represents America's strength?...Steel! Thanks to Andrew Carnegie, this country was literally built on steel: bridges, buildings, railways. We won wars with steel.

American steel was once the standard of the world. The Germans great make sport-sedans, Italians make great exotics, and the Japanese make great commuter cars. America makes great trucks. So perhaps the uneasiness of the car-buying public about the use of aluminum is rooted deeper in our psyche. Perhaps I am over psychoanalyzing this whole thing; I have been known to do that.

Andrew Carnegie revolutionized steel production, Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production. Both men knew without great risk there is no reward. I have faith that their "decendants" will come together and revolutionize the way America sees its beloved pickup truck. What do you think, is the skepticism regarding aluminium only about the material, or could it be something more?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a professional car buying consultant, lover of all things automotive and a bit wagon obsessed. On a personal note, while I am not a "truck guy," I really want the aluminum F-150 to succeed, maybe it is just me being overly patriotic but If it does I will be proud to broker deals on them.

(F-150 images via Ford.com. Aircraft images via Wikipedia)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:19

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Birmabright or GTFAC.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:21

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It's fear of the unknown. People have been told for years all about the steel pickups made by the big 3 were absolute tanks and workhorses. To suddenly make one out of pop can material? Well we might as well put a honda badge on it!

But seriously, once it gets out there, people will probably love it. It will drive just like their old pickups, it will just get better mileage and maybe be a bit easier to handle at lower speeds.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:22

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Aluminum is 100% recyclable, non-corrosive, and the most abundant metal on Earth.

I'm not seeing any downsides to Ford decision here.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/06/2014 at 11:23

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Most people don't understand that modern aluminum alloys can actually have about the same strength as steel does with less weight.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:27

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From observation while I was in Germany, it seemed like the Germans who would have bought an F-150 if available instead buy either a Transit or a Defender. Things are absolutely all over the place.

So, disregarding my goofier post from earlier, there is a country using an aluminum pickup extensively - common body/bed architecture notwithstanding.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ 02/06/2014 at 11:29

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In some circumstances, they can have more strength if the weight they need to support was also steel but replaced with aluminum .I wouldn't be surprised if the underlying chassis of the new F-150 has a lot of "supports" and "reinforcements" instead of just using thicker lengths of steel to achieve strength.

Z_Stig > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:31

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It didn't help the way the media covered it. A synopsis:

OMG! WTF! My Coke comes in an aluminum can! FORD! Why?!?!

Once everyone sees that it works just fine, as do other machines that are made out of aluminum and work just fine; and they will get better gas mileage with their truck, they should be fine.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/06/2014 at 11:32

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True. Using a series of aluminum ribs throughout the body could easily provide the strength they need while still saving weight than using thicker gauges of steel.

Jayhawk Jake > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:33

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This is made of aluminum

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 11:34

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Also, people believe what they are told far too easily, and lack basic understanding of science and physics.

If Faux News, or another terrible propaganda outlet decides to run a story about "Weak Aluminum In Ford's New F-150!" or any other sensationalized headline detailing the inherent differences between Aluminum and Steel in such a way as to incite panic Ford could very well lose their cash cow.

What someone ought to do is make a soda, wait even better; beer, can out of steel- make a case of them- and have random people on the street in Small-Town USA try to pick them up. This is practical demonstration of the benefits of using Aluminum over steel in the F-150.

In fact, Ford, you can thank me for your advertising campaign. I'll take one new Fiesta ST, options and color to be determined later.

Jayhawk Jake > Jayhawk Jake 02/06/2014 at 11:35

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This was made of steel, it wasn't exactly a success

Modern airplanes are mostly aluminum, with fiber reinforced plastics becoming more common.

crowmolly > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 11:35

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Body repair cost, but that's not really their problem.

crowmolly > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:38

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Honestly, I don't think John Q. Truckbuyer will give a shit. If anything it will seem more technologically advanced.

It's a Ford F-150. That's the 30-06 of trucks. If anything will hurt its reputation it will be a 4-cyl engine, but even then with fuel prices so high truck buyers might be happy to have the option.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > crowmolly 02/06/2014 at 11:38

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Body damage repair will only cost more initially as most places aren't familiar with AL.

Once more cars and trucks are built using significant AL in their panels, prices will drop.

If they can use AL extensively in the aircraft industry without it causing problems, I do not see why we can also use it in our cars and trucks as well.

CobraJoe > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 11:40

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Aluminum does corrode, just not in the same way that steel does. Most often, it will corrode on the surface into a material that is even harder than aluminum, and then stop.

However, there is a bad side to choosing aluminum: Fatigue life.

Steel has the advantage because if it is sized right, it can live nearly forever as long as the loads it experiences are under a certain percentage of the maximum tensile strength. Aluminum on the other hand, does not have this property, every time it is loaded and unloaded with a force, it will get slightly weaker. Granted, it's still easy to size a part appropriately so that it will live as long as the engineers want it to, but the end of life is still coming.

Of course, that might not be true for the aluminum alloy they chose, and I'm sure they have it designed and tested it to outlive the drivetrain at least. After all, the last thing Ford would would want is bad press saying the newfangled aluminum frames are cracking early.

crowmolly > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 11:46

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Right, but that initial kickoff is pretty substantial.

I am still wondering if insurance companies will charge more because of it.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:50

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I think there are a few important points to be made here:

1) It's their best selling vehicle, their most profitable vehicle, they did not make this decision lightly, they did not make this decision unless they were 99% sure they could make it work for them. The existence of Ford practically depends on this vehicle.

2) We can take a lesson from history. Ford has successfully shoved the ecoboost down the throat of the 1/2 ton truck buying public, which is no small feat. Ford took a risk, but at the end of the day was it really a risk? They knew how capable the engine is. They did an excellent job of showcasing its reliability. I'm thinking test-drives took care of any lingering doubts of anyone that went to the dealership for a new F-150.

3) I think we can look at aluminum much the same way as the ecoboost, but in this case it'll be in 100% of new trucks, not somewhere just under 50%. I honestly think with a combination of smart marketing and mind-blowing test drives (which I think the ecoboost certainly delivered), Ford will have no problem.

But what is the problem with aluminum you ask? Why is skepticism abound? I think the car-mags and "experts" are fueling that fire. It starts in backyards, at the watercooler or at any other gathering place of people. I garuantee one of those people in the group will come off negative about this newfangled aluminum truck. I think people may actually apprehensively agree, until they are properly educated by the internet, a car salesman or someone that actually knows more than the "expert" that "convinced" them (after a few busch lights and a burger) it was a bad idea.

So in short to answer your question, I think it stems from miss-informed people spreading truck gossip, everyone ALWAYS has an opinion here in the USA, when it comes to trucks.
-Dodge's suck
-Trucks are inefficient and useless
-Ford is better than Chevy
-My dick is bigger than yours, because my truck is bigger
-etc etc etc

I think the only new thing about this argument is that aluminum came into the equation.

JR1 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 11:58

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I want the new F150 to succeed and other companies to follow in their footsteps. We are losing our oil reserves and one day when I am 70 I still want to be able to hope into a petrol powered car and enjoy a sunny day. My two problems with the aluminum currently are:

Insurance costs- With less experience repairing the metal and higher costs how much will insurance go up?

Availability- This is the countries leading vehicle it requires a lot of raw material, will a sudden demand drive up the costs or will the demand decrease aluminum which is less common than iron ore?

Tom McParland > JR1 02/06/2014 at 12:00

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Both excellent points

Joe_Limon > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 12:02

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The weight/etc advantage of aluminum isn't clear cut. There are high strength steels with better strength/weight ratios then aluminum (i.e. 300m), but 300m is hella expensive... Once you start factoring price in, steel is competitive with aluminum depending on how much you're willing to spend you could end up with a steel product that is lighter or heavier then aluminum.

HammerheadFistpunch > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 12:06

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What I would like to know is the type of spec of the Aluminum. I was talking to a metallurgist friend of mine about it and he seemed to think that, depending on the type of aluminum, there shouldn't be any problem at all with ductility and repairs.

Racescort666 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 12:06

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As a former aircraft repair design engineer, aircraft and auto body are very different.

For one, aircraft typically use 2024 aluminum for skins, ribs, stringers, and other structural components. 2024, while very high strength and probably one of the better fatigue resistant aluminum, is incredibly suceptible to corrosion. It's also very expensive, hard to form, and can't (shouldn't) be welded. Everything is riveted and bonded during a repair and repairs tend to look like patchwork because repairs are designed to be as strong or stronger than the original structure. Visually, this is unpleasant but the goal is strength not looks.

Automotive, on the other hand, usually doesn't have to worry as much about the strength since replacing large portions is a bit easier. Also, Ford is likely using a weldable aluminum so that their assembly process is similar to steel, otherwise it would be too expensive to switch to a new material. So repairs will likely be welded, or panels replaced, similar to current practice.

The only thing potentially similar would be the advancements in adhesives used in aircraft. A replacement part would literally be glued into place and body filler used to hide the seam. From what I understand, this is also already being done in repair shops.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Racescort666 02/06/2014 at 12:11

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I wasn't implying the processes of building/repairing cars/trucks and aircraft were at all similar.

Only that one manufacturing industry has already figured out how to use AL extensively, so for the car manufacturing sector to start isn't like they are the very first ones to have this idea.

Renescent > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 12:13

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I think it's largely society's experience with aluminum to date... Flimsy foil, soda and beer cans, malleable trash cans, et al.

Folks will come around after long term testing proves it meets/exceeds prior truck standards.

Kailand09 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 12:46

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I don't have any direct comments regarding the Aluminum, just that this is a great article.

Can you please take over Patrick George's spot now, with the shit he's throwing on FP?

Tom McParland > Kailand09 02/06/2014 at 12:49

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Thanks man, I dropped the big-shots and Andrew over at Truck Yeah a link. I guess it's not their thing today. Oh well, win some lose some. I got FP'd yesterday, I'm happy about that.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ 02/06/2014 at 13:05

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The rule of thumb with aluminum is to double the thickness of steel to get the same strength, and it will be about 30-50% lighter, depending on how it's designed. The problem is in fatigue life. Under a certain stress level, steel has an infinite fatigue life. Aluminum doesn't. That's why airliners go in for refitment every so many years.

MEESTALUBBA > Jayhawk Jake 02/06/2014 at 14:10

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the b17 bomber was made almost entirely of aluminum lol

konarider94 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 14:12

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I think the real winning combo would have been to roll this truck out with a small diesel engine to compete with RAM's ecodiesel. I really like Ford and think the 2015 F-150 looks great. I've wanted aluminum body panels in vehicles for a long time but I still think the ecodiesel wins out in my decision matrix.

cmoran27 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 14:13

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No one has asked or reported on that I think the big question is!

SO, it dropped 700 pounds, does that mean that they will increase the payload by at least 700 pounds?

If they can do that than I will be looking to trade in my f150 for a new one. If it doesn't increase than they missed out on a great opportunity to improve and I will probably be buying a GMC for my next truck.

Kailand09 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 14:23

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Their loss, this is a great stuff. Wish every article on FP was this good.

Tom McParland > Kailand09 02/06/2014 at 14:29

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Andrew just shared it to Truck Yeah, so that is pretty cool. :)

Kailand09 > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 14:46

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ihbase > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 14:53

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(… yawn…) -Michael

Jayhawk Jake > MEESTALUBBA 02/06/2014 at 15:02

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Most airplanes in WWII were largely aluminum, as are the majority today

BigBlock440 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 15:22

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Beverage cans used to be made of steel...

Mailbox Cancer > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 16:16

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YAY! A FAUX NEWS REFERENCE! YOU'VE EARNED DAILY KOS RESPECT!

Make your point without a needless, out-of-nowhere swipe that alienates those who actually enjoy the content from the most popular cable news network in television history. You otherwise had a terrific thing to say.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Mailbox Cancer 02/06/2014 at 16:43

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Considering that Fox fought and won the right to lie to viewers, I'm going with what I said.

Mailbox Cancer > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 17:01

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I would love to know, specifically, where Fox News Channel put out a hit piece on the aluminum body construction on the new F-150. It otherwise appears somewhat unsophisticated and drone-esque of you to seize an opportunity to slam a news organization that you've been bred and groomed to loooooaaathe.

Where's the connection here, Dan Rather?

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Mailbox Cancer 02/06/2014 at 17:17

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Um, I did not say that they had run a piece against AL, only that they were a specific one that I can see who would do that.

Do not assume anything about me. I have not been bred to loathe Fox. I grew up very, very conservative. I have made my own analysis as to their content and decided on my own that I do not appreciate what they have to say.

I know they are very popular. I see that as rather unfortunate, considering a lot of their audience is just angry, white, middle-aged men who don't like that the country no longer resembles the one they grew up in in the 1950s.

Again, these are only my observations. I do not have any facts to back my opinion about Fox viewership.

Apart from this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoz…

The bigger point here is why you are taking my sarcastic remark about an organization that makes money by sensationalizing the news as a personal attack. I don't know you. I don't care if you like Fox. Watch what you want.

Mailbox Cancer > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 17:23

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Nah, I don't take your point as a personal attack. Rather, a distraction from the– again –otherwise perfectly reasonable point you were making. That's why I take issue with it. Why bother? Why project?

Apparently I haven't had my Ensure® today, and my HurryCane™ order is a few days late, so pardon the grumpy quick-to-judge attitude.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Mailbox Cancer 02/06/2014 at 18:13

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No worries.

I used Fox as an example only because I couldn't think of another organization at that moment. The larger point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of places people visit to get their "news" not all of them are actually reporting facts, as in independently verifiable information, without spin. Fox is debatable, and probably not the worst offender out there anyway. They were the lowest hanging fruit, so I grabbed them from the tree.

I will get off your lawn Gramps. (That's a joke.)

Mailbox Cancer > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/06/2014 at 18:21

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I will get off your lawn Gramps. (That's a joke.)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Ahhh this made my day. Good talk, sonny, good talk.

Jerbun > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 18:25

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This angle makes the new F-150 look really wide.

Corey Van Bruggen > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 20:04

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The only issue i see is they are probably going to use steel bolts. And steel and aluminum are not good friends. They like to corrode to eachother. Which, this isn't Ford's problem but if you're the mechanic or body man it would piss you off.

Corey Van Bruggen > Tom McParland 02/06/2014 at 20:04

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The only issue i see is they are probably going to use steel bolts. And steel and aluminum are not good friends. They like to corrode to eachother. Which, this isn't Ford's problem but if you're the mechanic or body man it would piss you off.

Tom McParland > Corey Van Bruggen 02/06/2014 at 20:16

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That is an interesting point I wonder how it will play out.

rdkev > Tom McParland 02/07/2014 at 00:13

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People are dumb.

I, (State Your Name) > Jayhawk Jake 02/07/2014 at 13:57

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This.

And aluminum continued to be the material of choice for airframes post-WWII and to the present day. We're only now starting to see aircraft with made using significant percentages of carbon fiber or other non-metallic materials.

I'm not ignoring titanium. Correct me if I'm wrong but excepting rare birds like the SR-71 and experimental vehicles, titanium is generally used for sparingly rather than for entire airframes.

Jayhawk Jake > I, (State Your Name) 02/07/2014 at 14:19

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Titanium is typically only used in small applications where it's absoultely necessary, and that's rare. There are some titanium fasteners used in areas for corrosion purposes, again only where necessary.

I, (State Your Name) > Jayhawk Jake 02/07/2014 at 15:32

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I was thinking about small parts and fasteners, yes.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Renescent 02/07/2014 at 16:01

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I think it's a select few naysayers sprinkled across our country, that have nothing better to do than hate on things they don't understand.

jovimon7 > Tom McParland 02/07/2014 at 17:54

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"We won wars with steel aluminum." There, I fixed that for ya.

shop-teacher > Renescent 02/07/2014 at 20:09

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Exactly. People think of weak cans and foil, not the aluminum rods in their engine that undergo forces that we can barely fathom.

Ford guys will buy Fords. The trucks will be just fine. A year from now the aluminum truck body won't even be a story. Or better yet, the next Ram will have a steel body, and we'll say WTF?

MooseKnuckles > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/08/2014 at 18:39

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Fords of past have had a problem with aluminum body panels corroding and the paint then bubbles. Google search "aluminum hood paint bubbles" and the first page is entirely Ford results, the next few pages are primarily Ford related problems.

MooseKnuckles > Tom McParland 02/08/2014 at 18:49

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On average the current F150 weighs 400-500lbs more than a comparable Silverado. Is the use of aluminum to shed up to 700lbs on the F150 really worth the risk, and still only come in about 200lbs lighter than the Silverado? They could have gone the route of GM and used better steels for certain applications and engineered the frame-components-body better and avoided the risk but still shed the weight. They still could have gone with an aluminum hood, tailgate, doors.. the parts people move and would physically feel the difference on.

It's just such an important vehicle to gamble with when the didn't really have to.

Tom McParland > MooseKnuckles 02/08/2014 at 18:54

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All good points.

MrEvil > CobraJoe 02/08/2014 at 20:50

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Except Ford is still using a Steel fully boxed frame. The body-work is what's switching to all aluminium.

uofime > konarider94 02/13/2014 at 10:37

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not sure the diesel makes sense, to get it you have to pay 10000 more, it doesn't get that much better mileage and fuel consistently costs significantly more than gas.

my family recently replaced their 25o, the old one was the 7.2 with an new gas one for this reason, it doesn't make economic sense. Before some one says it, the new one has plenty of power to pull all the stuff on the farm and a big goose neck camping trailer the old one did.

Casper > Tom McParland 02/13/2014 at 11:41

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People are stupid and don't understand science. It's just like the people who point at old cars made of large quantities of steel and say "back in those days they were safe because they were built like tanks" yet our plastic today is stronger than steel back then.

konarider94 > uofime 02/13/2014 at 15:14

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For one we are talking about half tons here. The new ecodiesel in the RAM 1500 is a $4k option over the v6 gas engine and less than $3k more than the hemi. Not sure where you got the $10k. Even in the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks the 6.7 cummins is an $8k option.

Also the ecodiesel gets epa fuel economy of 21/28 which is pretty impressive for a vehicle with 420 ft lbs and a 9200 lb tow rating. The thing about the diesel vehicles is that people actually obtain the epa numbers and sometimes higher whereas that is rarely if ever the case with the gas epa fuel economy numbers. I haven't driven one and I hear they are a bit slow, but hows your mom's 250 gasser doing on fuel? Its not a perfect option, there are compromises with anything. You can weight the pros and cons differently than I do based on your personal needs, but you could make a little better argument than you did. I'm looking to test drive one near the end of the month when the local dealer is supposed to get one. I'm actually in the market for a new truck.

ps- did you mean to say an old one with the 7.3? I'm not sure how old, but if it was a non-turbo idi 7.3 I'm not surprised you are happy with a new gas truck.

howie2092 > Tom McParland 04/25/2014 at 22:19

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My 2003 F150 has an aluminum hood. The earth never stopped spinning.