Crash test finds injury risk for Ford's new aluminum F-150 - Dallas Morning News
In a crash test of Ford Motor Co. ’s new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup, an extended-cab version suffered damage that presented a risk of serious injury to the driver, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety said. Ford’s larger SuperCrew F-150, equipped with an extra steel safety structure, passed with low risk of injury. The F-Series pickup is Ford’s top-selling and most profitable model and is the first mass-market vehicle with an all-aluminum body. General Motors Co. , which sells steel-body pickups, has attacked Ford’s truck in ads depicting consumers selecting the safety of steel over aluminum. “Ford added structural elements to the crew cab’s front frame to earn a good small overlap rating and a Top Safety Pick award, but didn’t do the same for the extended cab,” David Zuby, the insurance institute’s chief researcher, said in a prepared... “That shortchanges buyers who might pick the extended cab thinking it offers the same protection in this type of crash as the crew cab. Ford chose to first put the extra safety supports on the SuperCrew because that’s the top-selling version of the F-150, said Raj Nair, the automaker’s global product development chief. Source: www.dallasnews.com
