Det var inte en dag för tidigt. Från början sade de att den skulle komma den 26 okt. Två veckor sent alltså.
The first production version of the aluminum-body 2015 Ford F-150 pickup rolls off the line today at Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn, Mich., truck plant after years of preparation.
Ford aims to stake out its engineering leadership with the 2015 F-150, the industry’s first mass market, aluminum-body truck.
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Skeptics have predicted the ramp-up could be slow as Ford breaks in its manufacturing process, building about 60 trucks an hour at full line speed. Ford has repeatedly said that the launch is on schedule and that F-150s will arrive in dealerships in December.
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Ford shut down its Dearborn manufacturing operation for nearly two months to install 500 robots in the body shop to “conduct state-of-the-art joining technology that leads to a tougher truck,” Ford said in the release.
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Ford added 850 workers at its Dearborn operations to support the launch.
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After the Dearborn plant gets ramped up, Ford will shut its Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo., in the first quarter of 2015 to prepare it for 2015 F-150 production.
Aluminum versions of the F-150 will be as many as 750 pounds lighter than comparable steel-body versions of the current 2014 truck, depending on trim levels, the company has said. Ford is counting on the F-150 to help it meet more stringent fuel economy regulations.
Ford CEO Mark Fields has said Ford is committed to more aluminum vehicles. On Sept. 29, he said the next-generation Super Duty pickup also will be aluminum.
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Vid full speed på bandet kommer det alltså 60 trucks per timme. Det dröjer ett tag innan detta. Det är dock inte den enda fabriken som skall tillverka denna F-150. Kansas City har en som skall stänga för uppgradering när denna i Dearborn har varvat upp.
Den motorn som har Sintercast CGI i blocket väntas bli mycket populär men än vet vi inte hur stor del av produktionen den kommer att ta.