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Aluminum body Bronco revealed in union agreement document?

indio22

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I'm guessing only the structural members will be steel. Pieces that Ford has gone out of the way to make small, where volume:strength really matters.

Even the Wrangler already uses aluminum for all the moving panels.
Yes, I was doing some quick research yesterday, and seems like the JL hood, door skins, and a few other parts are aluminum. With a possible plastic part as well. Not sure about the front fenders and grill. I would like a crystal ball, to see down the road how it all handles midwest salt spray winters over time.

I know time has not been kind to Jeep TJ frame rails, partly due to Jeep failing to put drainage holes in the center part of the rails. Big time fail by Jeep in that regard. If I ever buy a new Bronco/JL, I'm going to stay on top of the rust situation from day one.
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Toyhoarder

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Yes, I was doing some quick research yesterday, and seems like the JL hood, door skins, and a few other parts are aluminum. With a possible plastic part as well. Not sure about the front fenders and grill. I would like a crystal ball, to see down the road how it all handles midwest salt spray winters over time
Really? Aluminum has been used in vehicles for decades. The tranny and t-case on my 89 were aluminum. The hood of the F-150 has been aluminum since 2004.
 

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Awesome. Less weight is better for everything, and Ford's approach to making aluminum vehicles is to make panels easy to replace, which is great too. The new Explorer is surprisingly light considering how huge it is, so this bodes well.
First place where we agree :D Now if they could shrink the mustang a bit and make it out of aluminum...
 

Tslater1989

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Really? Aluminum has been used in vehicles for decades. The tranny and t-case on my 89 were aluminum. The hood of the F-150 has been aluminum since 2004.
Actually, my 97 f150 has an aluminum hood, as does my 99 expedition.
 

Pioneer74

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Does Dearborn also stamp steel, thus making speculation possibly ambiguous?
I work at the truck plant that is right next to the Stamping plant, and know a lot of guys that work there.

Dearborn does not stamp steel anymore. The last steel stampings, Focus door panels, were removed when the F150 switched over to aluminum. Aluminum dust and rust off the steel stampings could potentially create an explosive environment, and Ford didn't want to take any chances.

Anyway, the rumors going around the stamping plant are the new Bronco stampings will be for anything that attaches to the body with a hinge. Doors, hood and liftgate are the products they've heard.
 

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Stampede.Offroad

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They haven't stamped steel since Kansas City switched over to P552. Sometime in late 2014.
If major components of the Bronco(s) were going to be formed somewhere else under the purview of the UAW then I would have expected to see that mentioned, but there isn't one. That only leaves a couple options then it would seem.

  1. All major structural and body components will be aluminum, or
  2. Some major components will be formed at a facility(ies) outside the UAW agreement and shipped in.

Which is more likely? The Ranger is currently having some significant structural components shipped in, but it is also being built and sold in a much wider set of markets too.
 

Pioneer74

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If major components of the Bronco(s) were going to be formed somewhere else under the purview of the UAW then I would have expected to see that mentioned, but there isn't one. That only leaves a couple options then it would seem.

  1. All major structural and body components will be aluminum, or
  2. Some major components will be formed at a facility(ies) outside the UAW agreement and shipped in.

Which is more likely? The Ranger is currently having some significant structural components shipped in, but it is also being built and sold in a much wider set of markets too.
The page you are referencing in the OP is only stating work for stamping plants that are not attached to an assembly plant. MAP has a stamping plant onsite. That stamping plant only does steel, which is why the aluminum stampings for the Ranger are not produced there, but at an outside supplier that is not UAW represented.

If the Bronco is produced like what the rumors around Dearborn suggest, steel body with aluminum components bolted to it, then the steel stampings would be produced at MAP.
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