The Aluminum Evolution is Here

People just love to complain.

I'm not sure what about modern society makes it attractive to belittle good things in exchange for meager drawbacks. Perhaps it's the nature of social interaction today – taking place online and in front of millions – which sends us into spirals of negativity. Clifford Nass, professor of communication at Stanford, concluded that "negative emotions involve more thinking…thus, we ruminate more about unpleasant events-and use stronger words to describe them."

When is the last time you said customer service was good? What about that one time where the cable company didn't completely disappoint you? When did you last think, "Wow, gas sure is getting cheaper!"?

It might be hard to find sincere appreciation for someone doing their job well, as is the case with the first two examples. Ultimately, fuel savings are nothing but a morale boost – a drop in the bucket of fiscal sustainability. So when there is a real chance to alter the fuel economy marketplace – savings of about 40% over current costs – why are people still complaining?

Despite industry trends which have indicated this is an inevitability, some consumers and auto industry personnel are criticizing Ford's decision to integrate significant amounts of aluminum in the 2015 F-150, which will save 750 pounds of curb weight. Ford isn't exactly breaking new ground, however. Aluminum has a long history of use in European performance vehicles manufactured by the likes of Audi, Jaguar and Aston Martin, and was also the primary material of the 2014 Corvette. In conjunction with legislation that will mandate more than 50 miles per gallon for new consumer autos by 2025, the industry is on the forefront of a major upheaval that will ultimately benefit everyone.

So what is there to complain about?

Durability: trucks are expected to have more utility than a sports car, and tougher skin than a soda can.

Workability: aluminum auto panels are substantially more difficult to fabricate or repair than steel panels. Aluminum requires careful forming and bending, which means additional shop equipment, higher-quality repair personnel, and correspondingly, an increase in insurance costs. Aluminum auto bodies are more expensive than traditional materials, meaning an increase in costs that will trickle down to the consumer. Hannes has this topic well-covered in an upcoming post.

Dissimilar metals: not only is there potential for galvanic corrosion at steel and aluminum joints, new welding techniques and adhesives had to be developed to join body segments.

But benefits of aluminum autos heavily outweigh the drawbacks. Reducing vehicle mass also improves acceleration, handling, and braking. While the material costs are initially more, up to 50% of retired aluminum vehicles can be recycled. Aluminum also has some impressive safety benefits. Its mass-specific energy absorption is better than mild steel. Aluminum alloys are also more likely to crumple than fracture, increasing safety for everyone involved in a car crash.

Ford and the aluminum industry have done their homework, and hopefully misconceptions will dissipate quickly. Ford recognized that eventually some American automaker would begin utilizing aluminum as the primary structural material for new vehicles, so they might as well do it in America's best-selling auto. It's a bold step – one that may make consumers wary in the short term – but one that will also ultimately keep Ford as the most innovative of the Big Three.

Last fall, Novelis, the leading supplier of aluminum to American auto manufacturers, constructed a new aluminum processing facility in Oswego, N.Y., to meet growing demand. The company expects sales to auto manufacturers to rise by 25% annually for the next eight years, meaning that Ford isn't going to be alone. GM is preparing their own aluminum pick-up, likely for debut in 2018. Chrysler, who began integrating aluminum in 1997, originally poked fun at Ford for using aluminum but is said to be planning an aluminum Ram 1500 for 2017.

What does this mean? The time has come for more sustainable auto production, whether you're ready for it or not.

Editor's Note: This post is brought to you by the new ESDU Automotive Collection. The ESDU Automotive Collection contains a group of independently validated design methods, best practices, data and software tools for solving complex Automotive Engineering problems and enabling faster and more reliable decision making during vehicle product design. The ESDU Automotive Collection is structured to complement your internal design practices, addresses gaps in information and provides access to best in class industry expertise.