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Next Ford F-150 delayed for aluminum body panel issues?

The timetable for next-generation Ford F-150 may be in trouble if a report from The Truth About Cars is true. The next F-150 is slated to make extensive use of weight-saving aluminum in its body, but the aluminum alloy provided by suppliers hasn't met Ford's requirements in the earliest phases of pre-production, according to the report.
The F-150 represents a huge portion of Ford's profits and is the best-selling truck in the US, even in the face of increased pressure from cross-town rivals General Motors and Ram. While the current truck is treading water against its competition, we'd be lying if we said the F-150 weren't growing quite long in the tooth.
If production of the next-generation of the Ford cash cow, said to be based on the Atlas Concept from the 2013 Detroit Auto Show (pictured above), is delayed, it could be bad for Ford. Production at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant is already set to be delayed six to ten weeks, missing an internal on-sale deadline of Memorial Day.

Ford Claims Focus As World's Best-Selling Car For Second Year In A Row

Ford Motor Co. has claimed its Focus sedan beat out the Toyota Corolla for the title of 'best-selling car in the world' for the second year in a row. The declaration was based on independent sales figures from January to September of 2013, according to USA Today. Last year, Ford used data from the analysis firm Polk to support its claim of having the best-selling car of 2012. Toyota objected, stating the Corolla sold more units. The numbers eventually showed that the Ford Focus was the best selling nameplate of the year, but may have been second to the Toyota sedan overall since multiple variations of the Corolla are sold under different nameplates around the world. Data from the analysis firm R.L. Polk found Focus registrations from January through September 2013 reached 856,587. Ford can thank booming car sales in China, where the automaker sold 303,481 units, for a sizable chunk of that number, which was a 16 percent increase over 2012. "Our success with Focus is the result of Ford's connection to our customers all over the world," said Jim Farley, an executive vice president at Ford. The Focus and Corolla both compete in the popular small sedan segment, along with other hot-selling cars like the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet Cruze. These vehicles make a up a large portion of sales for their respective automakers, as they tend to hit a sweet spot for many consumers, coming with a starting sticker price under $20,000, solid fuel economy, plenty of cargo and passenger room and, lately, sharp exterior design and sportier driving dynamics. Related Gallery 2013 Ford Focus ST Test Drive Ford focus

Aluminum lightweighting does, in fact, save fuel

When the best-selling US truck sheds the equivalent weight of three football fullbacks by shifting to aluminum, folks start paying attention. Oak Ridge National Laboratory took a closer look at whether the reduced fuel consumption from a lighter aluminum body makes up for the fact that producing aluminum is far more energy intensive than steel. And the results of the study are pretty encouraging. In a nutshell, the energy needed to produce a vehicle's raw materials accounts for about 10 percent of a typical vehicle's carbon footprint during its total lifecycle, and that number is up from six percent because of advancements in fuel economy (fuel use is down to about 68 percent of total emissions from about 75 percent). Still, even with that higher material-extraction share, the fuel-efficiency gains from aluminum compared to steel will offset the additional vehicle-extraction energy in just 12,000 miles of driving, according to the study. That means that, from an environmental standpoint, aluminum vehicles are playing with the house's money after just one year on the road. Aluminum-sheet construction got topical real quickly earlier this year when Ford said the 2015 F-150 pickup truck would go to a 93-percent aluminum body construction. In addition to aluminum being less corrosive than steel, that change caused the F-150 to shed 700 pounds from its curb weight. And it looks like the Explorer and Expedition SUVs may go on an aluminum diet next. Take a look at SAE International's synopsis of the Oak Ridge Lab's study below. Life Cycle Energy and Environmental Assessment of Aluminum-Intensive Vehicle Design Advanced lightweight materials are increasingly being incorporated into new vehicle designs by automakers to enhance performance and assist in complying with increasing requirements of corporate average fuel economy standards. To assess the primary energy and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) implications of vehicle designs utilizing these materials, this study examines the potential life cycle impacts of two lightweight material alternative vehicle designs, i.e., steel and aluminum of a typical passenger vehicle operated today in North America. LCA for three common alternative lightweight vehicle designs are evaluated: current production ("Baseline"), an advanced high strength steel and aluminum design ("LWSV"), and an aluminum-intensive design (AIV).