Here's a poorly written article about the hopes and wild dreams (marketing) of Ford and their F150. Ford gets ready to unveil the aluminum F-150 - Jan. 2, 2014 30 mpg....LOL
The experts consulted are clueless or have been misheard to get the 30 mpg number. Ford's goal is to trim 750 pounds off the next F150. IIRC, the rule of thumb is every 100 pounds reduced increases fuel economy by 1%. If the weight reduction is met, we are looking at about a 7.5% increase. That will mostly help for the city numbers. Which will be about a 1.5mpg increase. Doesn't sound like much, but is a noticable improvement for a vehicle that gets high teens in the city cycle. Then there might other steps taken to improve the efficiency. The Explorer and Edge get 28 and 30 mpg on the highway with the 2L Ecoboost, and there was a rumor the engine might make its way into the F150. With Dodge and GM getting into the mid twenties with the V6s on their trucks, Ford will have to address that in some way.
Detroit Auto Show: Ford bets big on aluminum with F-150 truck - latimes.com Its important because this is the best selling vehicle in the US. Aluminum takes much more energy to produce than steel to produce. Last year ford sold 760K f-series trucks. The change in material may save about 700lbs or give 15% better fuel economy. It will be interesting to see if the fuel economy materializes and if people spend the extra money for the trucks. The boxed frame is steel, which should leave the trucks tough, the hood, cab, doors, and liftgate are aluminum. Hopefully this can get a large number of vehicles more efficient.
Getting even 1/2 MPG more from all the F150s might well save more gas than all the Prii on the road (over a more usual car). That said, converting those 150s that are purchased for reasons not related to carrying capacity, into Prii would of course save much more.
It's a good idea especially in the North with salted roads. Good aluminum alloys mean less salt damage.
