Spy shots??

[crazyal]

I'm not sure if the term plastic is correct. In today's world composite materials are stronger than steel. The only issue is cost and weight. I have a friend who was into rally car racing and made a Kevlar skid plate for his VW. It was about 3/8" of an inch thick and weighed a ton. But it never came close to allowing anything from damaging the underside of the car.

 

[JasG]

According to this Ford is going to go to a unibody truck and get back to more of a true 1/2 ton than a small 3/4 ton truck. Of course it was put out on April 1st, but it's similar to other stuff I have read that Ford was trying to reduce weight to get the mileage up.

Ford F-150 Going Unibody For 2015 - Truck Trend News

The use of aluminum will certainly reduce weight by several hundred pounds. We'll hazard a guess that 2015 F-150 weights will range from under 4500 lbs for regular cab models to under 5500 lbs for the biggest SuperCrews, depending on configuration, for the 2015 F-150. The current F-150, for comparison, tops out at 6145 lbs for a Harley-Davidson Edition SuperCrew. Fuel economy should increase as well. Ford is likely aiming past 25 mpg for naturally aspirated models in order to one-up the 2013 Ram 1500.

Of course, unibody construction will reduce capability considerably. Currently, the F-150 carries a payload rating between 2310 and 3120 pounds. Expect about 1500 lbs for 2015 SuperCrew models and 2500 lbs for regular cab ones. Towing will suffer as well, with the minimum likely dropping to 3500 lbs and the maximum dropping to 7500 lbs, if not lower.
As for why the reasoning behind the construction switch, Ford said that "a unibody architecture enables us to better engineer the trucks to suit the demands of today's truck buyers, who expect greater on-road comfort, a quieter cabin, and better fuel economy. Today's buyers are also less concerned with traditional details like payload and tow ratings and are less likely to use their trucks to haul or tow."

 

[wmonroe]

I hope they are not going to a unibody setup.

 

[Scooby074]

I hope they are not going to a unibody setup.

Body on frame is good for a truck, yes, but lets not overlook the elephant in the room, many owners of F150 class trucks used them as glorified mall cruisers. They want creature comforts and a car like ride. Watch the looks on their faces when they get into a 250 and up.. they look like their back is going to beak from the rough ride Lightweight materials and unibody construction will help ford meet CAFE, particularly with the volume the 150 sells, plus the ride will be more "car like". And pretty much everybody (consumers) is chasing mileage these days, short of a diesel (which I personally desire) lightening the vehicle along with things like Ecoboost and unibody will help sales for those consumers looking squarely at mileage numbers.

 

[two_bit_score]

Body on frame is good for a truck, yes, but lets not overlook the elephant in the room, many owners of F150 class trucks used them as glorified mall cruisers. They want creature comforts and a car like ride. Watch the looks on their faces when they get into a 250 and up.. they look like their back is going to beak from the rough ride Lightweight materials and unibody construction will help ford meet CAFE, particularly with the volume the 150 sells. And pretty much everybody (consumers) is chasing mileage these days, short of a diesel (which I personally desire) lightening the vehicle along with things like Ecoboost will help sales for those consumers looking squarely at mileage numbers.

I looked in the bed of a friends new F150 yesterday and was shocked at the small size. I jut said 'nice truck' and left it at that.

 

[crazyal]

I don't know how you could have an aluminum unibody. The whole point of a unibody is the frame and the floor panel(s) are welded together. Personally I wouldn't want an aluminum frame. Any damage to the frame and you'll be replacing the whole thing. I know when Honda put an aluminum frame on their motocross bikes it didn't save any weight because of the extra material needed to make the frame stiff enough. Steel can flex a little but aluminum will only flex a few times before it starts to crack.

 

[schmism]

I don't know how you could have an aluminum unibody. The whole point of a unibody is the frame and the floor panel(s) are welded together. Personally I wouldn't want an aluminum frame.

you sound as if you cant weld aluminum?!?! Dont mean to disapoint you but if the factory can weld together a steel unibody, they can weld together a AL one. If you can weld in replacement sections on a Steel unibody, you can do the same for an AL one.

 

[CliffordK]

Body on frame is good for a truck, yes, but lets not overlook the elephant in the room, many owners of F150 class trucks used them as glorified mall cruisers.

The problem is when they hit about 10 years old, and the 2[sup]nd[/sup] or 3[sup]rd[/sup] owner, it suddenly goes for a mall cruiser to a "work truck".

Not that the factory has to sell to the 3[sup]rd[/sup] owner, but it does make a difference for the ultimate resale value of the vehicle. I suppose when one drops from over $30K down to sub $5K, the resale value doesn't make a big difference.

Has Ford actually stopped making Rangers?

I was wondering about Aluminum Frame + Unibody. They could, of course, do an aluminum frame, Unibody style + either Aluminum skin, or composite skin. Some vehicles also have a unibody frame, and bolt-on body panels, in which case, the body panels could be made out of any chosen material.

What about an El-Camino / Ranchero "truck"?

 

[Scooby074]

The problem is when they hit about 10 years old, and the 2[sup]nd[/sup] or 3[sup]rd[/sup] owner, it suddenly goes for a mall cruiser to a "work truck".

Not that the factory has to sell to the 3[sup]rd[/sup] owner, but it does make a difference for the ultimate resale value of the vehicle. I suppose when one drops from over $30K down to sub $5K, the resale value doesn't make a big difference.

Has Ford actually stopped making Rangers?

I was wondering about Aluminum Frame + Unibody. They could, of course, do an aluminum frame, Unibody style + either Aluminum skin, or composite skin. Some vehicles also have a unibody frame, and bolt-on body panels, in which case, the body panels could be made out of any chosen material.

What about an El-Camino / Ranchero "truck"?

Yes the Ranger is no more for North America.

Ford dropped the ball there. They should have imported the "Global" Ranger with the diesel.

 

[94BULLITT]

Yes the Ranger is no more for North America.

Ford dropped the ball there. They should have imported the "Global" Ranger with the diesel.

I thought there was supposed to be a f100 this year that was a ranger replacement.