Aluminum

[Spartan]

They have aluminum doors designed and trunk lid but didn't go with them. I'm sure we'll see those on the mid cycle refresh (or sooner if Camaro trumps them)

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[IndustryLeech]

And electric.

...and self-driving. :(

 

[Guard]

I was just thinking. Why Ford didn't go with an aluminum body like they did with the F-150? The weight savings would have been quite substantial and definite performance gain. So, now we have Mustang that's more powerful than the previous model but heavier...so there's really no gain. It's already got a lot of "wow" factor, that would have been something else to add to the list!

Research "London Metal Exchange" "Alcoa" "Rio Tinto Alcan" "Rusal"...

To put it simply, There's a huge surplus of Aluminum in the world. This is a bad for the aluminum producers, so they cut back on production by closing down unnecessary mills. Also, Aluminum is held up in warehouses for months (with little to no transparency as to why the wait time is so long) causing an increase in wait times and artificially reducing available supply. This in turn causes the price of aluminum to sky rocket and sell at record prices..

Economics...

 

[Hack]

It will be all aluminum before long. The CAFE standards start raising 1 mpg every single year from now for the next decade. So they already have a full incremental roll out plan. Thats going to include aluminum increasing, 8 to 10 speeds for the auto, and eventually an end to GT sales. Its just a matter of when. Each of those things will add the 1 mpg increase they need for each model year so they will include them one by one.

I'm crossing my fingers that the public will get off the "gasoline is Evil" kick and let go of that nonsense before long.

How many billions are we going to keep spending for nothing? :headbonk:

 

[PJE]

I designed and programmed the control systems on the 1200 robotic riveting machines putting together the new P552 F-150 (and also the ones riveting the 2015 Mustang hood).

I'd have loved my new Ecoboost Mustang to have more aluminum - as would the company I work for, but what Ford did on the F-150 cab design was very significant and took a lot of work. In term of timing the S550 project a little too early, and they wouldn't want two big developments running concurrently. Once they've sorted out the material supply chain I would hope to see many more aluminum intensive projects.

Current gas prices are unlikely to last long, and the benefits of lighter vehicles with the same, or better performance, are well proven.

I wouldn't expect an aluminum intensive structure on the Mustang until the next major design cycle (Note: This is my opinion, and I have no insider knowledge).

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