Bamaman1 wrote:
Not only is Ford engineering the new truck. They're also inventing, engineering and building the presses, machinery and conveyors required to build aluminum bodies in bulk. That's something that's never been done before.
Wow, Ford is inventing and engineering presses, machinery and conveyors required to build aluminum bodies in bulk? Really? Sorry but they are not doing any of that, at least not from scratch. All the machinery for these processes have been around for years. You might want to change your wording to say BUILDING not inventing.
And Ford has committed to producing as many as 20,000 body shells in order to get the bodies right. That's a bunch of adjustments--and recycling.
Their processes are important, as future car bodies will be made this way. And General Motors is already in the process of engineering aluminum truck bodies--even if their new 1500 series is just a year old.
If their engineering (of the truck and the factory) goes smooth, we'll see the new trucks sooner.
And when they get their processes right, Ford will close down the second factory and convert it to the new F150. They'll be making two different F150's for awhile.
Wrong there will be NO F-150 2015 trucks built except the new aluminum truck and that will not come out until February 2015 at the earliest. If Ford has two F-150 plants, they should have taken one down this summer and changed it over.
You do know that Ford is NOT the first car company to build a vehicle with aluminum don't you?
The history of aluminum in cars A growth market today, aluminum has been a key material for automakers since the beginning. The first sports car featuring an aluminum body was unveiled at the Berlin International Motor Show in 1899. Two years later, the first engine with aluminum parts was developed by Carl Benz.Following World War II, aluminum had become inexpensive enough to be considered for use in mass-produced vehicles. A breakthrough occurred in 1961, when the British Land Rover company produced V-8 engine blocks made with aluminum cylinders. From there, aluminum automobile parts gained a foothold in wheels and transmission casings and then moved into cylinder heads and suspension joints. This infinitely recyclable metal is now the leading material for use in powertrain and wheel applications and continues to gain market share in hoods, trunks, doors and bumpers—and complete vehicle structures. - See more at:
CLICK LINK
