Exactly, as a person who bought a new 1980 pontiac firebird this is a huge illustration of how FAR new autos have come.

"Back then" 100k mile vehicles were scrapped, each new year had minor tweaks, analog clocks always broke, no power, tons of polution control plumbing, etc etc.

Clamoring to buy the new model is exactly what successful products do..

Iphone4, 5, 5s.. pentium 3,4,etc.
Newer is now better, is success in the making. This is perhaps the best of times from a choice, quality, and feature perspective.. prices of course reflect the cost of being successful.

Sent from my Sprint PC36100 using IB AutoGroup

 

Our '72 Olds Delta 88 with 85k miles on it feels FAR from "used up" everything still works (except the clock haha) and other then the transmission rebuild and regular maintenance over the years (plugs,wires,distributor,tires,shocks,battery, brakes..ect) the car is all stock and drives sooo nice. but it goes for anything if you take care of it, it will take care of you

 

My 72 olds cutlass that caught fire jump starting it felt pretty used up

 

i suppose every car is different our Olds has to be one of my favorite to cruise with the top down, a little more so then our '56 bel-air mostly due to the fact the Olds has an automatic tranny. i'll be racking the miles up this summer with it

 

My 03 explorer feels good. But I have replaced allot of marginal parts and kept it right. 130,000 miles. I want new vehicles to last 300k. Beefier suspensions , less rust please

 

Cleaned up the thread a bit.

Gentlemen, insults will not be tolerated.

 

Google Audi A8. Have been using aluminum for years with no problems.

 

I think they are using 5000 and 6000 series Aluminum. 5000 is alloyed with Magnesium. 6000 is alloyed with magnesium and silicon making it fairly nice to machine. Doesn't aluminum galvanize while in contact with steel over time though? I probably should've talked to my Metallurgy teacher back in college on this subject but being graduated from college almost 2 years now, I'd have to shoot him an email on the subject to see what Ford would have to do in order to avoid this issue.

I've read a few articles where Ford said they switched to Uni-body style and I've read where Ford is keeping the traditional Body-on-frame. Can anyone confirm one way or another on this?

One thing Ford should do is really drop the EcoBoost line of engines. Now I am not sure what problems have arise with GM with the VVT (Varible Valve Timing) and Active Fuel management (shuts off cylinders when your not under load and just cruising), but their new 327 (5.3L) is being advertised as getting the same or better fuel economy as the 3.5L EcoBoost with a V8 setup and no turbochargers. I guess what I am getting at is maybe should look into this kind of stuff...just as long as they don't mess up and they take their time with testing.

Maybe they could try this on the 5.0L Coyote they have in the F150s (or was this dropped?). I've been skeptical about EcoBoost since day one and I am glad I've talked a few friends out from buying it and a few bought the F150 with the 5.0L and they can get 20mpg or so cruising with a 4x4 truck.

One turbo is expensive as it is...2 is insane. Thought Ford was done with dual turbos after the 6.4L PowerStroke fiasco? Guess old habits die hard.

 

It is a body on frame construction still. The GM 5.3L mated to the correct drive train is rated to pull 11,400 lbs, 100 more pounds than the ecoboost. I'm sure the truck is a little lighter than the current F-150 giving it the extra capability and fuel economy.

 

Sorry Mods, but I have to do this. I cant stand B/S ers


The truck is called Tarmac not "tuckered out". It was built in California by Truckin Magazine for someone in California. Probably never left the state. As a subscriber to Truckin, I thought those pics looked familiar. If your going to rip pictures from another site Id suggest you do your research.


Project Tarmac - Part 1 - 2012 Ford F-150 - CGS Motorsports - Truckin Magazine

Page 2: Suicide Doors - Project Tarmac - CGS Motorsports - Truckin Magazine

 

I was thinking the same thing when I saw it too. Glad to see I was right.

 

I'm with you on this one. I read all 5 pages and no numbers/figures or backing for any of his statements. Basically all 29 of his post count has been troll. I along with every other person in this forum know the first year of a new redesign has bugs but this guy is taking it to the extreme like its the apocalypse. It almost smells like he is a GMC/RAM fanboy come to stir the pot as it was mentioned earlier by IB Tim (yes tim I know you didn't specify the fanboy but I call it how I see it, you just pointed out the same thing about him stirring the pot lol). We get those every now and again. He will make enough enemies and cause enough fires to be snuffed out eventually. Just need to find my popcorn for the show.

Oh and so that I'm on the topic in reference to your aluminum claim, I worked on F-16CG Falcons for 6.5 years whose airframe utilizes aluminum and those suckers stand the test of time. Go look at the bone yard and those jets sitting out there in the elements in storage still ready to go, look at our current fleet of jets and the punishment they take flying into combat and varying weather conditions.....My backup is first hand experience turning wrenches on them for half a dozen years in service to my country. Using milspec aluminum will A. Make our trucks that much lighter to perform better and B. stand up better to punishment.

 

The Aluminum galvanizing info I got was from someone on here who said that it happened when the steel spark plug was in an Aluminum head.

Main down side I see to Aluminum bodies is that repair shops can't really fix them, they would have to be pulled off and be completely replaced. Unlike steel, just weld a stud, take a slide hammer and pop the dent out.

I'm guessing correct drive train would be 2wd, auto with 4.10s or something of that combination to get the 11,000lb tow capacity?

 

Ok just wanted to put this myth to rest. Body repair shops can repair aluminum panels. It's really not a whole lot different then steel. But it does require taken different steps. Shop do need to upgrade much of their equipment to be able to properly repair aluminum vehicles this is true. And so will the techs. working on the vehicles. The chevy c6 zo6 and zr1 corvettes have an all aluminum chassis. And so do other cars on the market to day. In order to properly repair those cars shops will be required to have Dedicated frame machines in order to prevent cross contamination of the metals. Technicians are going to be and need to now have dedicated tools and tool boxes for those tools to properly repair those cars. Right now most shops aren't their yet. When I worked at the chevy dealer and the c6 zo6 was coming out for production I and my coworkers had to go to special I-car training classes to be certified to repair the cars in order for the dealer to be able to sell them. The same was true with the mechanics. Plus the dealers were required to purchase many of the special tools that are required to repair them. (such as the dedicated frame machines) So I would recommend to anyone who buys the next gen trucks to do their homework on researching repair shops when needed. I would think for the time being right now I would recommend taking it back to you Ford dealer. Because in order for them to already have a collision shop on their lots they need to be certified by Ford.

 

Ok aluminum, not sure we know enough to see how it's going to hold up over long term, especially when coming in contact with steel. Heavy truck manufacturers have been putting aluminum cabs on steel frames for well over 50 years. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem so far.