I am on the UK solar car team and we have made several cars with carbon fiber bodies. It is tough as all hell, but it is the worst material i have ever worked with when trying to get it formed and cured. Also it isn't very repairable. Simply due to the nature of the material it will be many years before it could be mass produced on the scale of the F150.

 

Had they hit a fender or a door with the sledge hammer it would have been a replacement panel most likely be it steel or aluminum. Then it comes down to cost of materials.

 

Read the latest update by Chad Kirchner here:

Sledgehammers and Golf ***** and Aluminum, Oh My! - Ford Trucks

Thanks!

 

^^^^^^^^^ I don't know why anyone would be concerned about the aluminum at this point. ......it's painfully obvious it's superior

 

But some people get Aluminum from beer cans confused with Aluminum for vehicles. When I was browsing last night, I found out that a GM designer from back in the '30s-50s had designed cars to be made out of Aluminum. Granted it was probably a different process back then and probably a bit more expensive, but the concept has been a round for over 80 years. I won't be surprised if the high strength steel frames are replaced by a strong Aluminum Alloy in 20 years time, it'll be a radical change but at this point with how CAFE standards are getting in the next 10 years, it'll probably only be a matter of time. Unless they can come up with a better alternative steel alloy that is light weight, corrosion resistant but strong enough to do everything that we need trucks to do.

One thing is for sure, they need to come up with better alternatives to brake lines, get rid of the steel and rubber lines and put in something that actually lasts in the rust belt for a lot longer time than what they have now.

 

That's a great idea, but probably not a really top concern for Ford. The current lines last as long as the warranty, and that's good enough. Going to stainless or something would be relatively easy, as the material is already used that way, but I doubt people would want to pay the extra, so it would just cut into profits.

 

I do see your point, but Ford just spent a boat load of money to help make the F150 rust resistant, what's one more thing that could pose a safety concern? Still have the '99 and the lines are looking a bit questionable and its 16 years old. Ford should realize that people do keep their vehicles well longer than just a few years. Yeah then that would cut into their profits...just sucks when you actually keep something for the long haul and no one is willing to make it actually last from the get go.

 

I think the corrosion resistance was secondary to weight savings.

 

Ford did this 100% for weight savings, and any improved corrosion resistance will be used by the marketing group.

Vehicles are lasting longer than they ever did, complaining that steel rusts in the salt belt isn't a problem with the manufacturers. It's an unrealistic expectation that you can keep a vehicle 20 years in those conditions without replacing some parts like those brake lines.

 

Looks like a failed attempt or half baked attempt by Edmonds.com. Here's what Mark Fields reported on Edmonds.com test. Fields also addressed an Edmunds.com article where an aluminum truck the automotive website purchased and purposely hit with a sledgehammer and taken to a dealership for a repair estimate which came up higher than a steel-bodied truck would have. The CEO said Ford has 750 dealers certified to repair the 2015 model but the one chosen by Edmunds was not one of them. Fields said the shop's repair time estimate was double what it should be.


F-150 launch, sales going strong, says Ford CEO

 

With creases in the body lines would they not just replace the panel anyway? That is how they did it for my 2003 when the rear drivers corner was damaged by a guy backing in to it.

 

my local Ford shop doesn't even mess with trying to fix a panel that has multiple creases in it. My buddy works in the bodyshop and he said that it's quicker and usually cheaper to replace the entire panel(at least with steel).

 

Some of us care more about resistance to damage than the cost of a repair. I doubt I will ever have 2 hammer impacts, and I don't need to fix every door ding and scratch like some **** freaks out there. Repairs are to prevent rust in most situations.

 

I'm that **** freak and so fricken what, it's my truck and my money. So many on here say, "it's a truck it's going to get dinged". Well, with that attitude why don't these people just take a hammer and get it over with.

The inside of my bed is trashed and I don't care but the outside is pristine and scratch / dent free.

 

So it looks like Ford was right as it holds up better to abuse and is lighter in weight. Still it feels strange to damage a perfectly good truck.