Posted on 05/22/2017 2:52:48 AM PDT by taildragger
Despite the voices of skeptics (usually old-timers), Ford F150 sales are up over 7% YTD compared with a year ago, while the Silverado/Sierra sales are down around 6%. Rams are are also up 6%, but at the expense of the GM products.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/05/usa-pickup-truck-sales-chart-april-2017.html
It takes considerably different techniques and materials to repair an aluminum body panel than it does steel. Body men complained bitterly when cars got plastic and composite fenders for much the same reason.
It should be mentioned that a number of different panels on the aluminum bodied F-150 (and indeed many of the aluminum cars that have been around since the 90s) are not intended to be repaired but simply replaced.
Aluminum is harder to weld (takes more skill and different equipment) that steel, and it works differently from steel when trying to re-form it (i.e. bang out the dents). Plus, I'm not sure how the aluminum alloy is with respect to body fillers, but I'd think they'd have them figured out by now.
It's basically no different from aircraft aluminum, and repairs have been being made to aircraft with aluminum skins for decades, so the knowledge is out there, but maybe the proper equipment just hasn't made it to automotive repair shops yet.
Pretty much anything of that vintage is going to drive like a boat compared with today’s models. It’s a decent cruising car, pleasant to drive, but don’t expect it to compete well in any sort of “road race” or simulation thereof.
Which means that Ford can throw all of those GM “Aluminum Sucks” ads back at them next year. :D
Yup.
Most filler in use in the industry doesn’t adhere well to aluminum panels, FYI. Basically, you have to retrain and get the proper equipment to properly repair aluminum panels - and get documentation on each car so you know where you can repair and where you have to replace.
Orwellian.
GM 2016: Aluminum beds are worse than steel.
GM 2018: Aluminum beds are better than steel.
Well, yeah. It is GM, after all.
It’s going to be hilarious watching their 2016 ads get thrown back in their face. Of course, the only reason they did that is to try to retain their customers while they desperately flogged their engineers to hasten the development of their own aluminum body truck.
The next thing I bet they try is copying the Ford EcoBoost idea - a durable twin turbo V6 that’s actually got truck-usable torque.
Ford is going with a guy who ran their autonomous driving car outfit.
Not good.
On the news this morning all the talk was about how no one will own a car in the cities in the future.
People in the cities won’t own anything.
“The pursuit of happiness” was about working hard to own things.
Will people work hard to use a robot car twice a week?
They sit in the cities and see skyscrapers and subways and roads and see that they are all made by the millions of other people around them.
Man then becomes God.
Man can do anything. We just need the right people. Democrats.
I don’t know if this is a good thing.
I figured as much. Is it due to the fact that aluminum oxidizes so rapidly?
GMs are decent-looking trucks, from the front, but I just can't take those squared-off wheel-wells. Someone needs to be fired over those.
Some dear friends on another coast own a large successful independent body shop. They are getting close to retirement, and the next thing they may work on in the next few years will be their golf swing. I spoke to them about the F series w/ the aluminum body. It would take a capital investment for the special tools to fix them, so given their place in life and the number / yr that come through the door it wasn't cost effective.
What goes un-discussed is that the reason for finally going to an aluminum body for mileage was they had come up with a system that is repair-able, and not cost a fortune to fix like an Aluminum Audi, Jag, etc etc.
Thanks. I misunderstood them. Or heard what I wanted to hear instead what was actually said
Thanks. I misunderstood them. Or heard what I wanted to hear instead what was actually said
I should restate that - most industry body fillers don’t stick well if you use the standard prep work for steel panels. You have to seriously rough up the surface the filler is to be applied to to give it something to get purchase on, more so than steel. Then you have to clean the area to about surgical standards. There are some primers that can significantly help in this area, though.
Then you have the problem where the aluminum in some vehicles flexes more than steel so the filler just cracks off if you don’t have the right stuff.
That depends on what they were planning on fixing. With the aluminum body trucks, you’re mostly replacing panels or the entire bed as a unit, so no special tools required. The big difference between them and the aluminum Audis and Jags is that the Euro sedans are all welded and glued together and the F-150 is bolted together for the most part.
Spktyr, I believe the F series uses primarily adhesives and some rivets, and only a handful of welds. Bolting for the fenders on, same with doors and hood to their respective hinges, although as stand alone items they I think are glued together. When it came out the detailed the process extensively, I am sure you can search it via the web. Yes the Audi’s and Jags are more intricate welds and self piercing rivets if my memory is correct.
Yeah, but with the exception of the cab roof, pillars, skin, rockers, etc., pretty much all the exterior panels of the 150 can be bolted off and bolted on. With the Jags and Audis, that’s not always true.
And to be fair, the last steel 150s had a recommendation that (say) when a front fender was damaged, you don’t try to repair the fender if you couldn’t fix it with PDR, just replace it.
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