July 14, 2014
Alisa Priddle

Aluminum is closing in on silver bullet status for the auto industry.

The industry has long viewed the metal as a way to make vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient, but obstacles such as cost and manufacturing technology relegated it to niche applications, usually luxury vehicles, while steel remained the material of choice for the majority of the industry.

Conventional wisdom was thrown out the window in January when Ford unveiled the 2015 F-150 with an aluminum body. It will go into production later this year and Ford will build more than 700,000 of them annually, relying on internal research that 80% of truck buyers want better fuel economy and appreciate the properties of aluminum that doesn’t rust or dent.

Source
Detroit Free Press