Look out toyota.

Lmao funny but you definitely right

 

Ill give the credit to the f150,those babies are pretty good.

 

It'll be funny in 10 years when all the F150's look new because of the aluminum panels and lack of rust but everyone elses trucks have rust spots from the crappy modern paints.

 

Meh, everyone will go to aluminum or mixed metal in the next 5 years. Aluminum is much more recyclable and there aren't many disadvantages to it for body panels.

I'm not sure of the idea of making the frame out of Aluminum, but maybe a high end alloy might work.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/can-we-start-a-coe-picture-thread.219018/page-71

 

Rust free truck.... Imagine how long it could last with an Aluminum block, frame, and body.

 

Land Rover defenders with aluminum body, those things are like forever trucks.

 

hells yeah!

Freightliner experimenting with aluminum frames on their heavy trucks.

(mentions it at the bottom of the article, if you don't want to read the whole thing)

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/pt/239-business/258538-127442-its-efficientits-a-truckits-a-supertruck

 

well the bodies are, some of the African Safaris are tossing the Landy bodies on Landcruiser chassis...so they get the classic look, and all the reliability.

We are walking out the door to go the rodeo, I'll have to look up the article later..

 

Lol, Google land Rover defender galvanic corrosion, it's pretty much the biggest problem, people who think aluminum doesn't corrode have no clue what they're talking about. Most people also don't know that aluminum has a fatigue life cycle. There's a reason we throw away our military airframes after they have so many hours on them. When it comes to aluminum you hear things like airplanes are made out of aluminum, but no one ever tells you how much maintenance goes into keeping them corrosion free, and that they're moving away from aluminum for this exact reason. Boeing may a know a little bit more than Ford about aluminum, and choosing rivets as fasteners lol, well you'll see when you Google about the defender.
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_4_06/article_04_2.html

 

Never heard of too much problems with those bodies. I almost bought one, but by the time guy replayed back, car got sold and it was old Diesel defender too.
Now here is sad news. After 70 series stop being produced, the next great thing Defender meet its end

Well RIP
Defenders joining 70 Series Cruisers in pantheon of vehicular greatness. Its seems all great cars are going away. Lockers and "can't break me engines" are replaced by goPro mounts
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-01/rip-land-rover-s-defender-the-greatest-car-ever

 

Aluminum does have corrosion however it tends to form a protective layer over itself rather than flake off when it corrodes which is a huge positive over steel. Aluminum is a metal so it can form a galvanic cording circuit if not properly built when attached to other metals in things like the axle, engine, etc etc. All metals for galvanic circuits in this way, and so does the carbon in composites.

All metals have a fatigue cycle. What a fatigue cycle is, is when a material has undergone a certain level of stress over a certain time so that it no longer has the necessary strength or flexibility to do a certain task. Something like titanium in a fighter jet or aluminum in a Hercules will go through thousands of loading and unloading cycles before it reaches the end of its fatigue cycle. A truck frame undergoes no where near the stress of thin metal in a pressurized Hericules or wing bracing in a fighter jet. Therefore it lasts much much longer, if constructed properly. It's not really comparing the same thing when you compare a pressurized vessel to a truck frame. The way things are loaded onto the metal during pressurization and the weight considerations are completely different.

Composites are a SOB to fix and the only real reason Boeing is moving to them is because they are stronger against torsional forces per lbs than Aluminum, which is the same reason why auto manufacturers are moving to aluminum over steel. Composites are extremely expensive and when they go it's not a nice bend like aluminum or steel. They just flat out snap or shatter, which doesn't work for crash testing on a car. Boeing had to do a ton of work on the dreamliner to get composites to work and their safety in a crash is still questionable. Then again people tend to die anyways in airliner crashes so it's not as big a deal if the material is more prone to shatter when it's limits are reached. In a car frame or impact component you need things to compress and bend to dissipate energy, not shatter.

Not sure why you have to disagree with everything on here. All of your posts have basically been "nuh uh, you're wrong cause military, my brain, etc." Aluminum is a future construction material of vehicles. So are composites and other metals. I think GM is even playing with magnesium alloy panels now. Each of those materials has draw backs, but when used properly they are superior to steel in many ways too.

 

I am definitely NOT PC....

 

If you consider yourself "smart vehicle shopper" you need to check out JD Powers ratings and you will find that
GM has the exact same 4 Star Quality & Reliability ratings as Toyota & Honda. Ford & Dodge don't however, but GM should get credit for building better cars.

 

I speak for my own exp

I speak for my own experiences,people i have known , real world stories, and whats going on now
"Experts"can rate the automotive industry anyway they like.
You just dont see a gm,ford or chrysler holding value as toyo or honda does
And any given toyo or honda hits 250k or more miles without any major powertrain repair,something that only fullsize or diesel trucks from the big 3 detroit giants can achieve.

 

Anyway the reliability of the cars or trucks been build right now of the 3 detroit giants

Can only be quoted 10 or 15 years from now,
Time will tell,we'll see.

 

I work on aircraft and I'm here to tell you aluminum most definitely corrodes, I see it almost every day. I like how people make stuff up on this forum like they know everything. Yes this is my first post. I was very interested in buying my first Tacoma. Not so much now.

 

Meh, don't let the haters on this forum infuelce your decision. I think the Tacoma is a great vehical to buy and own, no matter what year. The internet is full of 'experts'. You should read the forums about Harleys somtimes, it's 10x worse than here.

Welcome Jetmechanic. Good to have some legit wrenches on here.

 

Tacomas are very good little trucks...don't let people sway you. Toyota has never cared much about getting into pissing matches with power or mpg...what the do great is, build vehicles that don't need much fussing with, basically change the oil and that is it. They are boring to own, and that is a good thing.


Some of us old timers that have been with them for awhile, are a bit disappointed...but not surprised.