The Dearborn Truck plant, in Detroit, saw the last examples of the current Ford F-150 generation roll off its production line this past weekend.
The Blue Oval is preparing to now start production of the much-debated aluminum-based model that is said to be far more efficient and advanced. This has sparked some controversy, though, and there are many who don’t believe it will stack up once it hits the market.
Retooling for the new model will take about a month, at an estimated cost of $359 million. The Dearborn plant won’t be the only one building the new F-150, as production will also commence at the maker’s Kansas City site, though later in the year, as its production line will keep making the 2014 model-year variant until closer to the end of the year, before it stops and incurs similar costs to prepare for the new model.
Ford execs are aware of the risks, but according to Bruce Hettle, the head of North American manufacturing for the brand said: “We are doing things we have never done before,” though he seemed confident when he said (in regards to the entire operation; retooling and eventual production) that “It is very detailed and organized. We have a truck-by-truck, minute-by-minute, plan. I have never seen such a detailed plan in 28 years.”
Production at Dearborn resumes September 22, and the new trucks should be out and about by the end of the year; Kansas will have to wait until “early 2015.”
Via USA Today, The Detroit Bureau
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