Raw materials advances a major variable in improved auto efficiency
August 14, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
BY JEWEL GOPWANI and BRENT SNAVELY | Source: Detroit Free Press
As the industry works on technologies under the hood, producers of each of the industry’s three main raw materials — steel, aluminum and plastic — are feverishly trying to help automakers reduce vehicle weight, while competing for a bigger share of the overall materials that make up a vehicle.
Today’s steel, for example, is stronger, more rust resistant and lighter than in the past, and more advances are expected, said Ron Krupitzer, vice president of automotive applications for the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Krupitzer said that with the use of today’s high-strength alloys, “steel can achieve at least 25% mass reduction.”
Lower mass can help automakers improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
Steel, Krupitzer said, accounts for about 60% of the average weight of cars and light trucks.
Much, much more in this lengthy story at the Detroit Free Press >>
