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Auto industry gets serious about lighter materials
AP ^ | Jun 9, 2014 1:55 PM (ET) | DEE-ANN DURBIN

Posted on 06/09/2014 1:10:56 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Roofs made of carbon fiber. Plastic windshields. Bumpers fashioned out of aluminum foam.

What sounds like a science experiment could be your next car.

While hybrids and electrics may grab the headlines, the real frontier in fuel economy is the switch to lighter materials.

Automakers have been experimenting for decades with lightweighting, as the practice is known, but the effort is gaining urgency with the adoption of tougher gas mileage standards. To meet the government's goal of nearly doubling average fuel economy to 45 mpg by 2025, cars need to lose some serious pounds.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: auto; cafe; cars; deathtrap; fueleconomy
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To: Clyde5445

The first car that I owned was a 67 Olds F-85.


81 posted on 06/09/2014 3:14:03 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: dfwgator

For those in rio linde

In a Yugo

As the snow flies

At a used car lot on the edge of town
A liberal guy and a liberal gal
Buy a Yugo

And they drive with pride

Cause if there’s one thing that this world needs
It’s environmental friends who’ll take the lead
In a Yugo

They say, “people don’t you understand
Those suburbans are ruining the land”
But they’ll wish they had a full size van one day
They point fingers at you and me
They say we’re too blind to see
But do we simply use our heads
And choose another way?

As those small wheels turn
Fifty miles to the gallon
And their knees on their chest
They’re gonna save enough gas
For all of the rest
In a Yugo

Then one day on the interstate
They suddenly lose control
They swerve to miss a baby duck
They’re squashed beneath a produce truck

But they drove with pride...

And as the crowds drive past a little flat car
You know they saved a lot of gas
But they didnt get far
In a Yugo

And as they’re trapped inside
At a used car lot on the other side of town
A liberal guy and a liberal gal
Buy a Yugo....

And they drive with pride...


82 posted on 06/09/2014 3:25:48 PM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... History is a process, not an event)
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To: Clyde5445

“I had one to it had a street sign for a floor board.”

I had a bug with a street sign floor board which had to be held up by a chain fastened to the clothes hanger clip over the door. You could see right down to the street and big puddles were no fun.


83 posted on 06/09/2014 3:53:35 PM PDT by outofsalt
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To: DJ MacWoW

I want as much metal around me as I can get. The bigger the vehicle, the better.


84 posted on 06/09/2014 3:55:26 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: trisham

Me too.


85 posted on 06/09/2014 4:04:37 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: DJ MacWoW

i’ll be driving older cars then.


86 posted on 06/09/2014 5:37:56 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

My current car is a 98. I don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon.


87 posted on 06/09/2014 5:44:23 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: DJ MacWoW

I think that mine is an ‘02 or ‘03, with about 16,000 miles on it. I’d like to replace it with something that has more leg room. At one time, I commuted an hour each way to work, but now I am usually at home during the week.


88 posted on 06/09/2014 5:49:30 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: DJ MacWoW

These videos show how much safer an old car is vs. a new one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g&feature=kp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-WYKYrq5FI


89 posted on 06/09/2014 6:11:51 PM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: Fresh Wind

And this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBDyeWofcLY&feature=kp


90 posted on 06/09/2014 6:30:01 PM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: cuban leaf

Check out www.eliomotors.com

$6,800 84 MPG 100 MPH AC and radio. Supposed to be getting a 5 star crash rating. Pep Boys will be doing the servicing and repairs. Production starts 2015. They are taking orders now. We are seriously thinking about getting one. It would be a great commuter car.


91 posted on 06/09/2014 6:31:00 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Fresh Wind

Some years ago, early 80’s maybe, my Dad was in a highway accident. He had a mint, 1960’s, no rust, Chrysler Imperial. The other people had a newer car. Dad walked away.


92 posted on 06/09/2014 7:01:26 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: DJ MacWoW

And in a car like that, he didn’t have much chance of avoiding the collision.

A few years back, I had a guy in a full-size pickup pull out in front of me, about 30 feet ahead of me.

If I had been driving a barge like the Imperial, I might have walked away. But I also would have t-boned the pickup and I doubt the driver would have been walking for a while, if ever.

But because I had an unsafe modern car, with excellent suspension and brakes, I missed his rear bumper by a foot, and we BOTH got to drive home that night.


93 posted on 06/10/2014 3:34:49 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: Fresh Wind
And in a car like that, he didn’t have much chance of avoiding the collision.

That's an assumption on your part, especially since I didn't describe any details.

Tiny death boxes aren't my idea of safe. Apparently they are yours so we disagree.

94 posted on 06/10/2014 3:48:19 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: DJ MacWoW

Ford is coming out with the 2015 F series that is going to have aluminum in it. They are risking the best selling vehicles, but they want to meet the CAFE standards.


95 posted on 06/10/2014 5:09:01 AM PDT by ExCTCitizen (I'm ExCTCitizen and I approve this reply. If it does offend Libs, I'm NOT sorry...)
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To: DJ MacWoW

Here’s a crash test video of a 2001 Ford F-150:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB0araA0T_k

By your standards, that vehicle should be pretty safe in a crash, but it’s actually a death trap.

Because of this, Ford redesigned the F-150 to modern standards, and they are now much, much better.

Oh, and the “tiny death box” that I drive is only a couple of hundred pounds lighter than the ‘59 Chevy that folded up like an aluminum beer can.

I go by facts, not mythology.


96 posted on 06/10/2014 5:48:20 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: Fresh Wind

This one’s painful to watch for several reasons, not the least of which is a nice looking ‘59 Chevy Bel Aire being demolished. It does demonstrate, however, the advances in vehicle crashworthiness from then until now. It’s crashed into a 2009 Chevy Malibu, which fares well by comparison.

http://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U


97 posted on 06/10/2014 6:07:14 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: SVTCobra03

That blur you just saw was my Shelby GT500 blowing the doors off of your Scion FR-S.


Not in the twisties in my neighborhood. ;-)


98 posted on 06/10/2014 6:33:10 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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To: DJ MacWoW

Exactly! Older cars were safer.


Nope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_r5UJrxcck


99 posted on 06/10/2014 6:39:53 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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