...............ain't no military grade aluminum Ford F-150 that will ever come close to competing with that Yoda................
Those were great trucks, even stock. The drivetrain was so well built. My cousin had a grey one like that, and his family were gm farm people. They all noted that the little yota was better built than any gm they had. But the body rust, oh man that was the kicker. That's one reason why the alloy fords will be so great.
The 22r was the venerable motor, the other optioned motors for the body style really stunk. The drivetrain its self was dependable behind the I4. I noted the lockers because factory axles snap when a locker is added. Google image the new aluminum fords in fender benders, the peel open literally like tin cans.
The aluminum is better than steel. Gm will go to alloy truck bodies too by 2020. Ram, too is suspected of doing this move as well. Surprise! GM putting aluminum in next-gen pickups Audi has been making certain models out of aluminum, much like the new f150 for about 20 years now and those are extremely safe and strong vehicles.
Yes and no. (On aluminum being "better".) Aluminum is fairly unforgiving of stress. Depending on the specific alloy used, it will crack or tear rather than stretch and bend like steel would. And the alloys that strech and bend better tend to be worse for welding and machining. And as GM is pointing out in their commercials, aluminum will not stand up to the abuse dished out upon pickup beds better than steel unles it's much thicker hence erasing any weight savings. And aluminum will corrode as well. Not nearly as readily as steel but pop the hood on any vehicle driven in the northeast with an aluminum engine and you will find corrosion. I'm excited to see how it works out in the body panels of vehicles. It can be challenging to paint but one would hope the auto mfgs have that sorted out already. However, the wisdom of using it in thin sheets for the floor of a pickup bed remains debatable until the actual trucks prove themselves. I can't help but wonder if a spray liner mitigates the damage from impacts.
Given that the majority of "truck buyers" now use them as glorified station wagons without a rear window, I'm sure most of them will work. Your right-on about the bed thickness. I too, believe commercial bed liner material has got to help. Time will tell. I'm amazed to see how many "soccer moms" now use these trucks to replace their mini-vans for toting their kids around and crusading in the "mall parking lot" wars......
It's not nearly as prevalent as it was 10 years ago. But it is entertaining to see who "needs" to drive a truck. Heck, I barely qualify these days. But that's why we live in the land of the free..... Aluminum has been the material of choice in Livestock trailers for decades now. (And other trailers too!). Find me a more corrosion-encouraging environment that that! But stock trailers that last are treated well with frequent power washing and an annual acid-bath. The biggest problem is failure of the welds because surprise surprise, the heavy corrugated panels used to construct said trailers have no give compared to a steel trailer. So all those bumps and jolts from rough roads put a lot of stress on the welded joints. Aluminum trailers done right are a thing of beauty. Done on the cheap and they can be a nightmare.
I hear you, but gm is retooling to go all alloy too, just a few years slower. Proper priming and painting will keep corrosion from happening on vehicles that have had at least some form of pride of ownership. Yes, body work is more $ on aluminum than steel. But as more aluminum bodywork is out there, the less it will cost for fender benders.
Common sense and logical reasoning doesn't get through to brand blinded people. It also makes no sense to the non technical people. The main reason Ford is using"alloy" is to meet epa mpg regs. It helps increase grossvwr and towing as well. It's the same reason there are turbo 6 and 4s replacing v8s
