GM's Campaign Against Aluminum

[FishOnOne]

Pretty interesting marketing strategy...

Link

[Bigfoot_affair]

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.

Aircraft do hold up well, BUT they are regularly maintained, inspected and repaired. This is the aft flight attendant jump seat base on one of our newest planes, about 4 years old.... Ugly!

[ksss]

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.

[Bird_Freak]

ksss wrote:

Sport45 wrote:

ksss wrote:

Bird Freak 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.

if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.

Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.

So all those aluminum trailers we see are just one good bump away from breaking in half?

http://www.fontainetrailer.com/revolution_aluminum_flatbed_trailer.html

I am saying that the tractors had issues with cracked frames. There is a lot of difference between trailers and tractors.

I was the shop foreman in the 70's for Saunders leasing. We were Ryders competition with a huge fleet nation wide. I can tell you we had no more frame problems from aluminum than steel and no one is rougher on trucks than renters.

[dodge_guy]

I'll back the aluminum body, when I've seen them on the road for a few years in the salt belt (Midwest).

As for GM trying to make aluminum look bad......what will they say about their trucks in a couple years?!!!

[ksss]

Sport45 wrote:

ksss wrote:

Bird Freak 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.

if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.

Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.

So all those aluminum trailers we see are just one good bump away from breaking in half?

http://www.fontainetrailer.com/revolution_aluminum_flatbed_trailer.html

I am saying that the tractors had issues with cracked frames. There is a lot of difference between trailers and tractors.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Ryan*Elli wrote:
So does this mean GM will go back to using cast iron for many of their engine blocks and heads?

I see what you did there..........and it's funny!!! :B

[Sport45]

ksss wrote:

Bird Freak 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.

if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.

Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.

So all those aluminum trailers we see are just one good bump away from breaking in half?

http://www.fontainetrailer.com/revolution_aluminum_flatbed_trailer.html

[ksss]

thomasmnile wrote:

ksss wrote:


You may want to catch up on current events. Market share is increasing and they are currently putting the wood to Ford in sales.

Um,I do. Read the automotive news in the Detroit Free Press online, probably as good a source of industry news as any. Ford running three shifts at their F-150 plants to meet consumer demand doesn't sound like teetering on the edge of financial ruin to me.........

And, end of the day no fanboy here, just glad to see an American automotive manufacturer doing well, don't care whose name is on the hood.

Um, I did not say they were on the brink of financial ruin. However GM's PU marketshare is increasing and they are currently selling more pickups than FORD. That's what I am saying.

[ksss]

Bird Freak 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.

if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.

Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.

[colliehauler]

It sounds like GM is talking out of both sides of it mouth. If aluminum is so inferior why did they switch the corvette frame and use it for engines, panels, hoods among other things.

Even more funny on a RV forum where a large percent of the trailers use aluminum siding.

I like GM but this is just poor marketing on their part.

[hone_eagle]

DirtyOil wrote:

hone eagle wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:
Ford says they use "Military Grade Aluminum"... what grade is it that they use?

6061 T6 I believe , most common in marine applications.

What I should nave asked was, what is military grade aluminum? I guess I would be fooling myself thinking truck buyers wouldn't fall for Ford's advertising sans "Military", or perhaps they're relying on the "Military Grade" actually meaning quality?


No such thing as "Military Grade", Military Spec yes.

exactly - just marketing using catchy words

6061 T6 is as far from 'beer can' as paper and steel.

[thomasmnile]

ksss wrote:


You may want to catch up on current events. Market share is increasing and they are currently putting the wood to Ford in sales.

Um,I do. Read the automotive news in the Detroit Free Press online, probably as good a source of industry news as any. Ford running three shifts at their F-150 plants to meet consumer demand doesn't sound like teetering on the edge of financial ruin to me.........

And, end of the day no fanboy here, just glad to see an American automotive manufacturer doing well, don't care whose name is on the hood.

[DirtyOil]

hone eagle wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:
Ford says they use "Military Grade Aluminum"... what grade is it that they use?

6061 T6 I believe , most common in marine applications.

What I should nave asked was, what is military grade aluminum? I guess I would be fooling myself thinking truck buyers wouldn't fall for Ford's advertising sans "Military", or perhaps they're relying on the "Military Grade" actually meaning quality?


No such thing as "Military Grade", Military Spec yes.

[Bird_Freak]

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.

if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.

[spoon059]

So, if I understand this correctly GM isn't saying that aluminum is any less durable than steel. In fact, they say NOTHING about the quality and dependability of the aluminum. They are relying on uneducated people making a snap decision based upon zero information.

Now that I think about it... that pretty much captures the brand loyal truck buyer. They don't know anything about the competition and are diehard loyalists based upon feelings.

Its actually a genius commercial for American truck buyers...