But they would drive a truck built by a company that was managed terribly for decades and then asked the tax payer to bail them out for $50,000,000,000,000? On top of this, about $16 billion will never be paid back to the US tax payer. Thanks GM!
The Powerful but Light Body
Using the new high strength, military grade aluminum alloy has helped Ford get rid of as much as five hundred pounds from the truck. The laminated wall remains made of steel though and does a great job of keeping unwanted sounds out of the cabin. The total weight reduction in the F-150 is around 700 pounds including lower control arms, leaf springs, and lighter seats.
Apart from the aluminum body, the 2.7 liter V6 engine for a full size truck is made out of graphite iron. The engine does come with EcoBoost technology and 325 horsepower as well as 375 lb-ft of torque. It has twin turbos and also comes with direct injection similar to the 3.5 liter engine which is augmented using robust hardware like the compacted graphite iron block (as just stated), cylinder heads, cracked main caps, and water cooled exhaust manifolds.
Ford has quite a bit of catching up to do as far as rigidity and ride quality is concerned, but this truck certainly does deliver the goods. It exhibits a brand new, smoother ride as well as a structure which calms while not eliminating secondary ride motions which ripple through the truck when you are on a choppy pavement.
It has much better body control as far as the Ram 1500 is concerned and the cabin is almost as quiet as the cabin of the Silverado. The steering is a little light but it is unbelievably responsive and accurate. It is only the brake pedal which felt slightly touchy and didn't deliver sufficient feedback. It does need a little work but again, at least Ford did not help add on to the national debt of America like GM did.
Performance Improvements
Ford has also said that fuel economy gains of around 5-20% can be expected as compared to figures from the previous year because of the all new aluminum body. For people that are using the pickups for work, this is a major advantage since the aluminum body can also be removed and the truck can then be used for more towing as well as payload capacities. The new truck is supposed to be able to tow up to 12,200 pounds and to carry up to 3,300 pounds in-bed.
The Great Outdoors
Now, if you like the brand new Ford F-150 enough that you are willing to cook and sleep in it then you would obviously love the idea of getting a Ford branded trailer or a bed mounted camper for your truck as well, wouldn't you? Ford had recently announced that they were entering into partnership and will peddle campers & trailers which come with aluminum body panels as well as the Blue Oval logo. This is because they believe that camping quality is supposed to be job number 1 for their trucks.
The first factory authorized campers from the company are going to be made by Livin' Lite, based out of Indiana and is going to arrive in 2016 in 6 different configurations for short as well as the long bed trucks.
The much bigger travel trailers as well as the toy haulers are going to be sold in a couple of options, 22 feet and 24 feet long trailers. Ford says their designs are going to be unique and that they will have front windows and wheels which are inspired from the F-150 as well.