Everyone is talking about it... ALUMINUM REPAIR & the 2015 Ford F-150 Truck

Everyone is talking about it... 

ALUMINUM REPAIR 

There are so many questions out there and we're get you some answers. 

Here are some questions we've been seeing here at Pro Spot on Aluminum Repair and the news of the Ford 2015 F-150 (* Questions and answers provided by Ford.com)

Q: Is the 2015 Ford F-150 all aluminum?
A*: "The body panels and cab walls, one unstressed cross-member in the frame and various internal parts are [high-strength, military-grade aluminum alloy]. The rest of the frame is steel, mostly high-strength steel."

Q: Why Aluminum, why now?
A*: "Because now and in the coming years, your truck will have to be stronger, more productive and more efficient, because the jobs keep getting harder and gas prices are rising. So we turned to high-strength, military-grade,* aluminum alloy for our body and bed. We developed new technologies. We rethought conventional assumptions and charted the future of tough. As always, we did what was right, not what was easy. Which is why the all-new F-150 is designed to deliver more towing and hauling capability than the previous generation. That’s real-world capability. That’s why we own work."

Q*: Why did Ford decide to use high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy for the body?
A*: "We set out to make the toughest, safest, smartest Ford F-150 yet. Through years of innovation and refinement, our engineers have devised a way to join its high-strength-steel frame together with its all-new body and bed, which are constructed using high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloys."

Q*: Will the high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy rust or corrode over time? 
A*: "The high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy in the new F-150 does not produce red rust like steel. We've gone to great lengths to develop coatings that will inhibit corrosion."

Q*: Isn’t aluminum weaker than steel? How will it hold up?
A*: "As demonstrated for decades in other transportation, such as heavy trucks and aircraft, high-strength aluminum is durable and strong. The new F-150 has to pass the same Built Ford Tough®durability tests, equaling or performing better than the current F-150."

Q: Isn't aluminum difficult to repair?

A*: "Like the rest of our vehicles, the new F-150 has been designed to be easy to repair in the event of an accident. Ford Dealers and independent repair facilities are already familiar with repairing aluminum body panels on our cars and trucks as well as on other manufacturers’ vehicles. In addition, Ford has worked with ICAR (Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) to develop specific F-150 repair training, which will be available to all Ford Dealers and independent collision repair facilities. Ford will recommend customers have their vehicles repaired at facilities that have completed the ICAR training." Pro Spot Aluminum Repair products included in the Ford 2015 F-150 Collision Repair Program

Q*: Are the frames of the all-new F-150 aluminum too, like the body?
A*: "No. All of our ladder frames use high-strength steel with through-welded crossmembers."

Q*: When does the all-new Ford F-150 go on sale?
A*: It will be in dealerships late this year.