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  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    Rumorpile: Ram Keeping It Steel Till 2021

      Steel Is Good Enough For Ram... For The Timebeing

    With new fuel economy regulations coming around the corner, many automakers are trying a number of things to meet those upcoming standards. Case in point: Ford is using aluminum in the next-generation F-150, and General Motors is reportedly doing the same for their next full-size truck. What about Ram Trucks? A new report says the brand will be sticking with steel for the time being.

    Reuters has learned from two sources that when Ram gives their truck a refresh in 2017, aluminum will not be in the picture. The earliest that Ram would add the material is after 2020 when the truck will be redesigned.

    This move could either hurt Ram if aluminum proves to be ticket for sales, or could actually help if reports of aluminum stockpiles are short because of more automakers using it in their vehicles.

    Source: Reuters

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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    balthazar

    I really don't see AL being a selling point- it's an intangible and so is weight to a sizable degree. In fact I tend to agree with reg that a lone steel truck line MAY actually be the only selling point rather than AL.

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    regfootball

    Ram trucks have a good rep these days, and a tough rep.  I have 2 people i know well who ditched other brands to go to Ram. One was a Chevy truck lifer.  Didn't like the new Chevy's.  I think Chevy erred badly on the styling of their new trucks.  Not man enough.

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    balthazar

    I consider myself a Ford truck man (have had 4), but I drive a Chevy and I think the current Rams are often gorgeous (in some trims/colors).

     

    IMO, there's not a thing "wrong" with this :

    clip_image002_0002.jpg

     

    ...and one guy moving to Dodge is meaningless. Mercedes gets about a 30% loyalty figure. No vehicle is for everyone.

    • Agree 4
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    ocnblu

    Chevy trucks win because of longterm quality, something Dodge trucks lack.  Although if the Coke can Ford falls flat on its face, I hope it is not too late for GM to hedge their bets toward steel.  It takes a huge investment to be able to work on aluminum.

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    A Horse With No Name

    Not sure I agree on the long term quality of Ram Trucks. I actually think they are fantastic, at least the newer ones. And this is coming from me, the C and G resident Mopar H8er. Agree with Balthy also that they are sweet in some colors or trims.

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    SAmadei

    I can actually see GM doing a Hybrid style of Truck. Inside Truck Bed is strong Solid Steel, Outside of bed being the body panels are aluminum. Still built like a Rock! :P

    Problem with hybrid truck bodies is that you get galvanic corrosion where dissimilar metals touch.  Its one thing on a engine where gaskets separate metals, metals are thick or alloys prevent the problem to certain degrees.  I imagine you need spacers where ever AL and FE touch.  Body movement would likely wear off paint or even these spacers.

    I just don't see the weight savings worth the effort.  I think this effort will go the way of GM's 1980 AL hoods and '90s plastic fenders and fiberglass door skins.

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    ocnblu

    Yeah, Ford is advertising a "special coating" to prevent aluminum corrosion on their new truck.  I'll believe it when I see it over time... we still see plenty of corrosion on Ford aluminum body panels - hoods and liftgates.

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    SAmadei

    Yeah, Ford is advertising a "special coating" to prevent aluminum corrosion on their new truck.  I'll believe it when I see it over time... we still see plenty of corrosion on Ford aluminum body panels - hoods and liftgates.

    Don't drive your aluminum Ford behind a truck spilling mercury thermometers...

    I think its especially ironic that mercury would doom an aluminum Ford now that Ford killed off Mercury.

    Aluminum corrosion is awful.  Rust sucks, but at least some metal remains.  You can't salvage aluminum when its turning into something akin to alka-selzer.

     

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