Chevrolet has made a few swift kicks at hometown rival Ford for its use of aluminum in its F-150. Despite the continued marketing and advertising, Reuters reports the company still has its eyes on big aluminum plans when the next-generation full-size pickups and SUVs debut.
It’s an educated inference, really. Alongside the $877 million investment announcement at the Flint, Michigan assembly, GM stated it plans to utilize the funds for an all-new body shop, moving the Flint assembly closer to the Flint Metal Center, and for necessary retooling.
It remains to be seen how much aluminum will be used in the next-generation vehicles, but we expect quite a bit, as GM has already locked in deals with aluminum suppliers. But, as we’ve seen with the Cadillac CT6, a mixed-material usage is also likely. Plus, with the introduction of TPO on the 2016 C7 Corvette, the possibilities are wide open as to how GM will reduce weight, and increase fuel economy in its largest of vehicles.
One thing is nearly certain, however, for the inbound Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra plus its SUV cousins: traditional steel is out, and more exotic materials are most definitely in.
Comments
Not even just increase fuel economy by adding lightness, but the coveted truck specs of hauling and towing.
They should use TPO and aluminum on the truck. Just so everyone isn’t saying, “uh herrh copyin’ ford”
I expect that once they make the conversion to aluminum, we could see GM make a price spike on the vehicles.
So the shelf-life of Chevy’s anti-aluminum ad campaign, and GMC being made from military-grade steel used on nuclear submarines, is approaching it’s ‘use by’ date.
But GM beat Ford to Colorado/Canyon territory, so I guess it’s a draw?
What if the Colorado/Canyon goes aluminum? GASP!
Ha. Good point —
We don’t know they’re going to aluminum. It’s an assumption. Let’s at least wait till we know before we throw them under the bus!
The sheep not only follow the Ram (GMC grille?) but, it turns out, they also follow the Ford.
Wait, how in the hell are they following Rams grill? VERY confused. GMC has been using the 3 bar brill for like 13 years and before that it was the same, but with a few more horizontal bars. Ford later copied that, sometime around 2010. Ram still uses that ugly walleye fish looking mouth grill, and they can keep it.
No one knows if the GM trucks are going aluminum either bub.
If your a ram guy,how come your reading GM Authority?