2015 F-150: Ford picks up the lightweight benchmark

Rather than reduce the size and capability of its all-new full-size pickup to meet new fuel-economy regulations, Ford chose instead to go radical on the truck's structure and materials.

“The decision to go with aluminum for the truck's entire body was huge,” said Pete Reyes, Chief Engineer of Ford's 2015 F-150, during a presentation at the U.S. collision-repair industry's 2014 I-CAR Conference. The “enterprise decision” he described was made in 2009 amid the global recession. It was based on a top-level directive to Ford's Truck Engineering group: “We've got a new truck coming in six years, and it's got to be a big move,” is how Reyes emphatically recalled it.

Ford's blockbuster move has ramifications across the automotive and metals industries due to the volume (+700,000 units/year) of the F-150 program; the light-duty pickup accounts for 25% of Ford's North American sales. Stringent new U.S. fuel-economy rules that culminated in 2025 CAFE meant either a smaller truck, or a profound reduction in vehicle mass, would be required. Ford planners chose the latter, and optimized the shift to aluminum with downsized EcoBoost engines and other fuel-saving measures including stop-start, active grille shutters, and slicker aerodynamics.