GM to Use Aluminum Bodies on Next Gen Trucks

[King T]

Does anyone think that GM might do something to try to one up the F-150 when it releases its Aluminum body? Like maybe have their trucks use an Aluminum frame whereas the F-150 still uses a steel frame? Or is there a real legitimate reason Ford kept the F-150 frame steel?

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by King T

.... Or is there a real legitimate reason Ford kept the F-150 frame steel?

Additional cost?

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by King T

Ford also has begun offering to subsidize dealers that upgrade their collision-repair equipment and training to handle aluminum-bodied vehicles. Unlike steel, aluminum fender-benders cannot be hammered out, puttied, sanded and painted as now.

Isn't this EXACTLY the reason the DeLorean DMC-12's never caught on?

[Firefighter]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Isn't this EXACTLY the reason the DeLorean DMC-12's never caught on?

Most likely not...

The Delorean was SS. The biggest problem was lack of power. The final nail in the coffin was John Delorean getting thrown in jail on federal drug charges for cocaine distribution.

It was pretty advanced for its time though.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[big hammer]

Originally Posted by snizzle

Anyone feel GM waits on industry trends set by *ehem* others *ehem* and shows up late to the party?

not at all. while ford has aluminum now, they pretty much had to because their trucks were grossly overweight. fords use of aluminum basically just put them around gm's current weight.

[chain777]

Originally Posted by big hammer

not at all. while ford has aluminum now, they pretty much had to because their trucks were grossly overweight. fords use of aluminum basically just put them around gm's current weight.

This is another one of those rumors that has no basis in reality, but gets repeated around here enough that it's stated as fact.

Here's the reality quoted from the other F150 thread:

Originally Posted by crysalis_01

2WD '14 Silverado ...... 2WD '14 F-150
Crew Cab, 5’ 8” box ...... Supercrew, 5' 6" box
4942 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 5128 lbs. (3.7L)
5042 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5254 lbs. (5.0L)
5156 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5296 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Crew Cab, 6’ 6” box ...... Supercrew, 6' 6" box
5000 lbs. (4.3L) ...... n/a
5104 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5345 lbs. (5.0L)
5216 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5380 lbs. (3.5L EB)

4WD '14 Silverado ...... 4WD '14 F-150
Crew Cab, 5’ 8” box ...... Supercrew, 5' 6" box
5139 lbs. (4.3L) ...... n/a
5218 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5586 lbs. (5.0L)
5370 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5615 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Crew Cab, 6’ 6” box ...... Supercrew, 6' 6" box
5197 lbs. (4.3L) ...... n/a
5292 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5714 lbs. (5.0L)
5429 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5731 lbs. (3.5L EB)
________________________________________

2WD '14 Silverado ...... 2WD '14 F-150
Double Cab, 6’ 6” box ...... Supercab, 6' 6" box
4860 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 5043 lbs. (3.7L)
4963 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5169 lbs. (5.0L)
5074 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5203 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Double cab, 8' box ...... Super cab, 8' box
n/a ............ 5312 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 5317 lbs. (3.5L EB)

4WD '14 Silverado ...... 4WD '14 F-150
Double Cab, 6’ 6” box ......Supercab, 6' 6" box
5104 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 5333 lbs. (3.7L)
5201 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5461 lbs. (5.0L)
5352 lbs. (6.2L) ...... 5476 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Double cab, 8' box ...... Super cab, 8' box
n/a ............ 5604 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 5620 lbs. (3.5L EB)
________________________________________

2WD '14 Silverado ...... 2WD '14 F-150
Regular Cab, 6’ 6” box...... Regular cab, 6' 6" box
4387 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 4685 lbs. (3.7L)
4503 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 4791 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 4953 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Regular Cab, 8’ box ...... Regular cab, 8' box
4567 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 4764 lbs. (3.7L)
4673 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 4901 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 5073 lbs. (3.5L EB)

4WD '14 Silverado ...... 4WD '14 F-150
Regular Cab, 6’ 6” box ......Regular cab, 6' 6" box
4587 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 4925 lbs. (3.7L)
4707 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5033 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 5220 lbs. (3.5L EB)

Regular Cab, 8’ box ...... Regular cab, 8' box
4816 lbs. (4.3L) ...... 4993 lbs. (3.7L)
4922 lbs. (5.3L) ...... 5130 lbs. (5.0L)
n/a ............ 5375 lbs. (3.5L EB)


These lists were compiled from both ford.com and gm.com, so direct from their respective sources, and I don't think there's a model where the Ford outweighs the GM by "600+" lbs. Now, there may be 6.2L Ford trims that may, but seeing as its being phased out of the 1/2 ton I don't see how it's relevant. Though I'll post those as well if anyone interested. That Boss motor is HEAVY. Either way if the "700 lbs" lost is structural, therefore model wide, the 150 will be in a pretty good spot weight wise vs GM and Ram.

I don't see anything close to an F150 weighing 600lbs more than a Silverado.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by King T

Does anyone think that GM might do something to try to one up the F-150 when it releases its Aluminum body? Like maybe have their trucks use an Aluminum frame whereas the F-150 still uses a steel frame? Or is there a real legitimate reason Ford kept the F-150 frame steel?

An aluminum frame on a truck would be all but impossible. Aluminum Is just nearly as strong as steel. Even for a 1/2 ton to meet towing and payload with an aluminum frame would be pretty tough.

Yes it would a bunch more and you would need so much aluminum you would likely offset the mass savings.

Originally Posted by chain777

This is another one of those rumors that has no basis in reality, but gets repeated around here enough that it's stated as fact.

Here's the reality quoted from the other F150 thread:




I don't see anything close to an F150 weighing 600lbs more than a Silverado.

But there are several over 300 pounds difference and that is still HUGE.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by chain777

This is another one of those rumors that has no basis in reality, but gets repeated around here enough that it's stated as fact.

Here's the reality quoted from the other F150 thread:




I don't see anything close to an F150 weighing 600lbs more than a Silverado.

The 600+ pounds is with a Silverado Crew Cab Long Box 6.2L and an F-150 Super Crew Long Box 6.2L. While Ford is phasing that engine out of the half-tons, simply cherrypicking it out to prove a point is stupid. Just highlights the fact that the F-series has had a weight issue for a while now.

[crysalis_01]

Originally Posted by Number 3

An aluminum frame on a truck would be all but impossible. Aluminum Is just nearly as strong as steel. Even for a 1/2 ton to meet towing and payload with an aluminum frame would be pretty tough.

Yes it would a bunch more and you would need so much aluminum you would likely offset the mass savings.



But there are several over 300 pounds difference and that is still HUGE.

5 to be exact.
4wd crew shortbed 368lbs
4wd crew longbed 422lbs & 302lbs
4wd single shortbed 338lbs & 336lbs

[chain777]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

The 600+ pounds is with a Silverado Crew Cab Long Box 6.2L and an F-150 Super Crew Long Box 6.2L. While Ford is phasing that engine out of the half-tons, simply cherrypicking it out to prove a point is stupid. Just highlights the fact that the F-series has had a weight issue for a while now.

I'm not arguing the point that the F150 had a weight problem, I'm arguing the point that the solution is just going to bring it inline with the others. What it's going to do is reverse the roles from being the heaviest PU to the lightest.

[crysalis_01]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

The 600+ pounds is with a Silverado Crew Cab Long Box 6.2L and an F-150 Super Crew Long Box 6.2L. While Ford is phasing that engine out of the half-tons, simply cherrypicking it out to prove a point is stupid. Just highlights the fact that the F-series has had a weight issue for a while now.

Actually the weight disparity is 475lbs. 5904 vs 5439.

6.2L vs 6.2L

Crewcab shortbox
4x2
F150: 5530
Silvy: 5156 374lbs difference.
4x4
F150: 5774
Silvy: 5370 404lb difference

Crewcab longbox
4x2
F150: 5607
Silvy: 5216 391lb difference
4x4
F150: 5904
Silvy: 5439 475lb difference

Super/Double cab
4x2
F150: 5434
Silvy: 5074 360lb difference
4x4
F150: 5689
Silvy: 5352 337lb difference

Are the Fords overweight? Absolutely. To the tune of 600+lbs? No.

Now the Raptor weight is crazy. The Supercrew 5.5' box combo comes in at 6203lbs and the Supercrew with 5.5' box is 6004lbs. They're simply behemoths. But that's somewhat expected with all the added hardware and the 6" wider body. But there is no direct GM competition so there really isn't a way to reasonably compare them to something that doesn't exist.

[khell86]

Originally Posted by crysalis_01

Actually the weight disparity is 475lbs. 5904 vs 5439.

6.2L vs 6.2L

Crewcab shortbox
4x2
F150: 5530
Silvy: 5156 374lbs difference.
4x4
F150: 5774
Silvy: 5370 404lb difference

Crewcab longbox
4x2
F150: 5607
Silvy: 5216 391lb difference
4x4
F150: 5904
Silvy: 5439 475lb difference

Super/Double cab
4x2
F150: 5434
Silvy: 5074 360lb difference
4x4
F150: 5689
Silvy: 5352 337lb difference

Are the Fords overweight? Absolutely. To the tune of 600+lbs? No.

Now the Raptor weight is crazy. The Supercrew 5.5' box combo comes in at 6203lbs and the Supercrew with 5.5' box is 6004lbs. They're simply behemoths. But that's somewhat expected with all the added hardware and the 6" wider body. But there is no direct GM competition so there really isn't a way to reasonably compare them to something that doesn't exist.

And now with the dropping of the 6.2L and the introduction of upgraded more fuel efficient engines, combined with the weight loss, GM will have some catching up to do.

Even with the weight discrepancy that the current F-150 has, it still remains within 1 MPG of GM's newest offerings. This will definitely shake up things in the truck industry. Its kinda swaying me towards my first truck purchase.

[Number 3]

Even so, Ford went from a HUGE deficit to a HUGE advantage and is paying a HUGE premium in materials to do it.

Question will be are people willing to pay that premium to now be 300 pounds lighter? GM wasn't getting any additional sales when it was the lightest. It was mentioned in magazine comparisons, but never made huge deal of. GM barely mentioned it in ads.

Is 300 pounds enough to make the 2.7L a viable choice? We have to wait and see. But that is down around 4 cylinder displacement. Ford could do ok though, just not sure I'd buy a FST with a 2.7L engine, turbo or not.

[chain777]

People won't buy it because it's lighter, they'll buy it because it'll gets better fuel economy without sacrificing performance. GM's trucks may have been lighter, but the fuel economy gains were negligible at best.

Fords managed to maintain their sales lead even with old models competing with the latest from GM, and this just raises the bar even higher. It looks like GM's a few steps behind and has some catching up to do. I don't think Ford will have any problems maintaining their sales lead in the near future with this strategy.