In 2015, Ford made a bold move to drop steel from its F-150 and switch to an all-aluminum body. It was unprecedented at the time, but it paid off for the brand as the SUV shed 700 pounds off its weight and has since become the brand’s best-selling vehicle.
Weight has always been considered a huge factor in maintaining fuel efficiency for vehicles, hence the need to let go of steel and use aluminum instead. But as it turns out, going all-aluminum is not the only option.
“Weight was a factor in every decision we made,” Explorer chief engineer Bill Gubing told The Detroit Free Press. “We looked at every part.”
It was revealed that the build materials of the 2020 Ford Explorer not only include aluminum, but also steel, magnesium, and plastic. And as a result of these mixed body materials, the new Explorer is 200 pounds lighter and 36% torsionally stiffer than its previous generation despite the addition of new features.
“The Explorer is the most use of mixed materials ever by Ford. We considered all-aluminum,” Gubing added.
But the model’s body eventually ended all steel save for the only part that’s completely aluminum – the hood.
Instead of making the new Explorer steel-free just to reduce weight, Ford engineers worked on strategically placing pieces of steel that were cut from a tube into the chassis. They also removed steel parts where they are deemed not necessary and looked into new steel grades and processes such as stretch-bending, hydroforming, high-strength, and ultra-high-strength.
The 2020 Ford Explorer will ride on a new platform that will also include the 2020 Lincoln Aviator. It is expected to be released this summer 2019 for the next model year.
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