Report: Ford Plans Aluminum F-150 Pickup

The next version of Ford Motor Co.'s best-selling F-150 pickup truck due in 2014 will swap aluminum for steel in the body and chassis, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The materials switch will slash the truck's curb weight by about 700 lbs. Unidentified sources tell the newspaper that Ford's goal is to boost fuel economy about 25%, which would give the F-150 a combined city/highway rating of approximately 21 mpg.

Ford will retain traditional steel components for its brawnier F-250 and F-350 variants, according to the Journal. The newspaper says the company aims to develop an F-150 that can meet expected U.S. fuel economy standards through 2020. Last year Ford sold 584,900 F-Series trucks in the U.S., about 75% of them F-150s.

Ford and other U.S. carmakers have selectively used aluminum suspension and body panels for years, often when they need help slipping a model into a lighter weight category for Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy calculations.

But the Journal notes that a wholesale shift away from steel in a truck traditionally marketed for its toughness is a big gamble. The F-150 has been America's best-selling vehicle for decades, and it's considered one of the world's most profitable high-volume cars or trucks.

Ford has not publicly confirmed the aluminum F-150 project. The Journal cites an estimate by Ducker Worldwide that switching to aluminum could save 190 lbs for the cab; 150 lbs for the doors, hood and tailgate; 114 lbs for the cargo box and 92 lbs for front suspension control arms and steering knuckles. Ford could cut addition vehicle weight by switching to a smaller engine for the lighter truck.