GM's Campaign Against Aluminum

mich800 wrote:

BroncosFan wrote:
Ford ALU story of a month-long job and an unbelievable service bay bill — $17,000!
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/how-a-2015-ford-f-150-aluminum-repair-cost-17-000-and-1719664610

Nice article but lacked one thing, perspective. What would the cost be to fix heavy cab damage on a new $70k steel cab truck?

Agree. Article is pointless without the comparison. And for damage that severe, why would a month be unreasonable?

mich800 wrote:

BroncosFan wrote:
Ford ALU story of a month-long job and an unbelievable service bay bill — $17,000!
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/how-a-2015-ford-f-150-aluminum-repair-cost-17-000-and-1719664610

Nice article but lacked one thing, perspective. What would the cost be to fix heavy cab damage on a new $70k steel cab truck?

I can see it...when my wife's car was rear ended the repair bill was about $8,000.00...not a single panel was replaced...everything was massaged back into place. Minus the plastic bumpers and bits...those were replaced.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

BroncosFan wrote:
Ford ALU story of a month-long job and an unbelievable service bay bill — $17,000!
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/how-a-2015-ford-f-150-aluminum-repair-cost-17-000-and-1719664610

Nice article but lacked one thing, perspective. What would the cost be to fix heavy cab damage on a new $70k steel cab truck?

Ford ALU story of a month-long job and an unbelievable service bay bill — $17,000!
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/how-a-2015-ford-f-150-aluminum-repair-cost-17-000-and-1719664610

hone eagle wrote:

ksss wrote:
What I can say after 22 years of owning an excavation company which as a part of that involves running and owning class 8 trucks, that aluminum frames don't hold up. You cant hardly give them away, except for scrape. That is a fact.

How carefuly are dump trucks loaded? Kinda like garbage trucks - just pack it to the top.

nobody has any idea what they weigh.

the refuse trucks I was in charge of weighted 33000 empty and averaged 54000 loaded

IdaD wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
I still wonder how aluminum will hold up. Corrosion, accidents etc. If I recall several years ago another industry went aluminum. Wiring in mobile homes. Lots of mobile homes burned down until they got it right. Aluminum won't rust but have you ever seen aluminum skirting on mobile homes in the AZ desert? It just disappears where it comes close to certain soils. Deteriates faster than rusted steel. Like to see the chassis in 5 years. Take a look at some of the first horse trails built with aluminum. Falling apart. A PU gets used off road where these harsh dirts etc. get up underneath. Not like a Corvet driving down highways. Maybe that is GMs plan. Wait and see. I only buy Fords but I'll wait and watch.

Aluminum seems to hold up fine on jets, and they get used hard in tough conditions 18 hours a day. I think the F150 will hold up fine, with maybe a little more expense tied up in repairs. If I were buying a new half ton today, I'd be getting an F150.

True, but aircraft never get exposed to road salt either.

wtd wrote:
Look under the aluminum hoods on mustangs from 2005 through 2014 and see what aluminum corrosion looks like. Ford has known about the problem for years and still couldn't or wouldn't fix it.

My fiancee has a 2007 Mustang GT that only has about 18,000 miles on it and is not driven in bad weather or sits out in the open and it has several large corrosion spots under the hood. My 2014 Mustang Gt has a few small spots starting to form.

I'll be curious to see how the aluminum F150 fairs after a few years. I'm not that hopeful.

didn't know it. Might explain why Ford didn't use aluminum for the new Mustang. I've asked several about it. I might infer that Ford didn't want the association.

Look under the aluminum hoods on mustangs from 2005 through 2014 and see what aluminum corrosion looks like. Ford has known about the problem for years and still couldn't or wouldn't fix it.

My fiancee has a 2007 Mustang GT that only has about 18,000 miles on it and is not driven in bad weather or sits out in the open and it has several large corrosion spots under the hood. My 2014 Mustang Gt has a few small spots starting to form.

I'll be curious to see how the aluminum F150 fairs after a few years. I'm not that hopeful.

Seems like most these days want to spend 40 grand on something then trade it in 3-4 years on another 40 grand something and have no thought of keeping paying off and owning. On to the latest and greatest.

Those pictures of the plane look like my hatch on my 2000 suburban around the rear wiper. The hatch is aluminum and I have bad corrosion there its all powdery gray.