Ford is launching its aluminum 2017 Super Duty Pickup on Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Texas State Fair.
Detroit Free Press reports that the pickup is part of Ford's F-Series Super Duty lineup of pickups and chassis cubs that switched to aluminum body from steel. However, its frame would still be made of high-strength steel.
Despite the shift, Ford Global Product Development head Ran Nair says that the new vehicle is the "toughest, most capable Super Duty we've ever done."
The buyer has three engines to select from - the 6.7-liter V8 diesel, 6.2-liter V8 gas engine ad 6-8-liter V10, reports ABC.
Gordon Platto, chief designer for the F-Series trucks, says that by using aluminum, a lighter material compared to steel, overall weight of the Super Duty Pickup was reduced by 350 pounds, while engineers used sturdier parts such as larger axles, brakes and hitches, and stronger driveline and transfer cases.
The model's added features include blind spot detection, lane departure warnings and LED lighting in the cargo box. It would go on sale in early 2016.
In making the change, Ford has to take down two assembly plans for months, negatively affecting sales in the last months of 2014 and 2015. However, it would not require downtime beyond the normal shutdown of facilities in summer at the Kentucky Truck facility in Louisville, according to Ford spokesman Mike Levine.
Levine says that the new body shop, almost complete and would make it easier to boost production of the Super Duty Pickup, would begin production in fall of 2016 as Ford phases out the outgoing model.
Ford holds 43 percent of the heavy-duty truck market and 64 percent of the chassis cab market. The chassis cub is purchased by one-fourth of buyers for its varied use, ranging from ambulance to dump truck. With the aluminum body, the trucks in the series sits higher on the ground, while the cab is five inches longer compared to the outgoing model.