2015 Ford F-150 unveiled

[fla-gypsy]

Haven't seen this posted yet

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/2015-ford-f-150-stronger-lighter-more-capable-230000639.html

[Engineer9860]

rickm wrote:
We noted last summer when we were camping ..... if there were 100 pickups in the campground, 75 of them were Fords.... which brought us to our slogan of the week " The Ford F150, the choice of campers everywhere", and this truck will be no different! The minute I saw the 2014 Silverado, after seeing the Atlas at the auto show in Detroit, I said GM will be back at the drawing boards within a year.

Grow up.

[travelnutz]

rickm,

DREAMER!

[rickm]

We noted last summer when we were camping ..... if there were 100 pickups in the campground, 75 of them were Fords.... which brought us to our slogan of the week " The Ford F150, the choice of campers everywhere", and this truck will be no different! The minute I saw the 2014 Silverado, after seeing the Atlas at the auto show in Detroit, I said GM will be back at the drawing boards within a year.

[RobertRyan]

Do you even have the ability to read numbers? The total sales in Australia are far less than only one month of sales in NA. Read the numbers so you actually have a hint of the BS you are spewing! The total Australian vehicle market is tiny and the Asian imports control it. Please quit showing how little you actually know!!!

Do you understand the posts? anybodies posts? Yes they are infinitesimal in Australia and the rest of the World outside NA.

[hone_eagle]

Agree NJRVer not a biggy - when something new comes along a segment of this community gets their underware in a twist about stuff that would of been the first issues on the list at the first meeting of the staff 5 years ago .
Its not the obvious stuff thats the "oh no" moment but things not even the smart guys foresaw ,least of all this bunch of campfire experts

[NJRVer]

hone eagle wrote:
The hoods are AL aren't they? Many cars are ,nobody bangs dents anymore just R&R.

What about parking lot rash?
No body R&R's a panel for parking lot dings.
Think Dent Wizard.

[travelnutz]

RobertRyan,

Do you even have the ability to read numbers? The total sales in Australia are far less than only one month of sales in NA. Read the numbers so you actually have a hint of the BS you are spewing! The total Australian vehicle market is tiny and the Asian imports control it. Please quit showing how little you actually know!!!

[RobertRyan]

Hone Eagle wrote:
You forgot Toyoda ,they are also pulling out and closing their plants like Ford and most recently GM.
Travel is right, market too small,

No he is totally wrong as usual. US Pickups are only sold in NA.Most of the Pickups we get are Asian imports, Closure of Australian production because most Australians are buying imports makes production for a local market impossible.Toyota has exported a lot but will be affected by the closure of the others, they want to stay.
Vehicle sales have been a record this year looking like another record this year...sound familiar?

[hone_eagle]

RobertRyan wrote:

The Big 3 are not really interested in selling trucks in Australia

Or outside NA, not very relevant.

You forgot Toyoda ,they are also pulling out and closing their plants like Ford and most recently GM.
Travel is right, market too small,

[RobertRyan]

The Big 3 are not really interested in selling trucks in Australia

Or outside NA, not very relevant.

[travelnutz]

The Big 3 are not really interested in selling trucks in Australia as the market is so tiny and it's half a planet away. Total Australian population is approx 23 million while the US has 318 million and Canada has 35 million or close to 350 million total. In other words, 15 times as many trucks/vehicles are sold in NA not even including Mexico and Central America sales with their over 100 million population. Australia's truck/vehicle market is like a nothing market compared to NA.

I'd sat in meetings in the past where this topic was discussed and very quickly dismissed. Less than 7% of the yearly sales even could be possible if they'd cornered the entire Australian truck/vehicle market! Never would happen! One member on this forum lives in a very foggy dream world!

[thomasmnile]

gijoecam wrote:
I'm not too concerned about the aluminum... I mean, GM made cars by Rubbermade for decades!

Just Damn! That hurts...........................:E

[otrfun]

jus2shy wrote:
. . .
As for highway fuel economy, I'm under the impression that aerodynamic drag is a bigger factor than weight, since an object in motion tends to want to stay in motion. However it looks like Ford is pulling the same stops that RAM did employing active aerodynamic shutters in the grille. Ford has always had a superior rear cab shape in my eyes as well, only truck maker to actually sculpt the back of the cab to try to direct air more strategically.
. . .

I agree wind resistance is a big factor when it comes to fuel economy. But, a reduction in weight, at some point, will have a noticeable affect on MPG's.

FWIW, I've loaded 750 - 1000 lbs. of gear in my 5.7 Tundra numerous times. I've always noticed a 1 - 2 mpg drop in fuel economy when doing so. The load was below the bed rails, so wind resistance was not an issue.

I can't imagine a 13-14% (700 lb.) reduction in a 1/2 ton truck's empty weight not having a "noticeable" affect on fuel economy. In other words, if Ford is unable to show at least 1 - 2 mpg of EPA gas mileage improvement (with everything else being equal), then I can't see how Ford can justify using aluminum. If the average consumer saw a steel 2014 3.5 Ecoboost and a mostly aluminum 2015 3.5 Ecoboost on the lot and they both had the same EPA window stick numbers, IMO no amount of marketing hype is gonna convince them the aluminum is worth the risk of change.

[Fordlover]

jus2shy wrote:
The problem with the 700lbs number is that I keep hearing that's the most heavily optioned vehicle that loses that much weight. Average weight loss across the line seems like it'll be a bit smaller. I'm sure most of the magazines will be taking the trucks to the scale and comparing them to similar previous model trucks to see how true Ford's statement is on the trucks and just how far that applies.

As for highway fuel economy, I'm under the impression that aerodynamic drag is a bigger factor than weight, since an object in motion tends to want to stay in motion. However it looks like Ford is pulling the same stops that RAM did employing active aerodynamic shutters in the grille. Ford has always had a superior rear cab shape in my eyes as well, only truck maker to actually sculpt the back of the cab to try to direct air more strategically.

As to the LED argument, in 2010 Ford switched from a mechanical fan drive to an e-fan setup. Again, this was because the mechanical fan always had parasitic drag but an e-fan could be turned on only when needed, removing the parasitic drag from the crankshaft. All trucks have a smart charging system now a days that helps keep engine drag low when the power isn't really needed. Saving drag on the alternator will also save fuel. It's all these little improvements that add up to the bigger picture of fuel economy savings. Personally, I am really curious how that Ecoboost 2.7 will work in the real world and if it will eclipse the Ecodiesel or not. This stuff is always fun to watch :).

Actually, since the weight loss is tied mostly to the cab/bed sheetmetal, options will hardly affect the weight loss # between similarly equipped '14 models vs. '15. Crewcabs are probably the most popular cab configuration, and they are the ones that will see the ~700 lb. loss. Regular cabs and supercabs will see less weight loss that's true.