Although major reductions in vehicle weight have occurred since the 1970s, there remains substantial further
potential, by substituting lightweight materials—primarily improved high-strength steel, aluminum and, possibly,
composites—and by structural redesign using supercomputers. The complexity of vehicle structural design to
assure safety and the lack of industry experience with the new materials demand a careful program of testing and
analysis, so that even aluminum will be introduced cautiously; an optimized design in a mass-market vehicle
making full use of aluminum’s unique properties—and, therefore, achieving maximum weight savings—must
probably wait until after 2005. By 2005, the Office of Technology Assessment projects that a highly optimized steel
body with aluminum engine could achieve a 15 percent weight reduction over 1995 norms; an aluminum intensive
body (but not an optimized, “clean sheet” design) could achieve a 20 percent weight reduction, at a price increment
of about $1,500 for a mid-size car. By 2015, an optimized aluminum design could achieve a 30 percent weight
reduction, at a similar $1,500 price. /f the severe manufacturing challenges of mass producing carbon fiber
composites are overcome, a 40 percent weight savings could be achieved, though probably at high costs (an
estimated $2,000 to $8,000 for an intermediate auto). Such a 40 percent weight reduction might increase fuel
economy by one-third.
avery
(avery)
#1