Weight Loss for Car Bodiesby Jerry Edgerton
If you're shopping for a new car, you naturally are checking out price, performance, and styling. You probably don't give any thought to whether the vehicle body is made of traditional steel or newer, lighter materials. But increasing use of aluminum, advanced plastics, and other new weight-reducing substitutes for steel helps determine gas mileage, crashworthiness, and what an auto body shop will charge for repairs if your car is in an accident.
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Aluminum has gained the widest use for body parts. In the past, aluminum was used chiefly in engines, transmissions, and other mechanical components. But to help meet government-mandated fuel economy standards, manufacturers have adopted lighter-weight aluminum for hoods and fenders on a wide range of vehicles, and also for tailgates on pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Aluminum in the typical car has grown from about 80 pounds in the early 1970s to some 300 pounds today, estimates The Aluminum Association--a trade group in Washington, D.C.
Among luxury and exotic sports cars, a few cars are made entirely of aluminum. The new $69,190 2004 Audi A8L is the third generation of this car with an all-aluminum body. The company says the aluminum construction lets the A8L keep the same weight and competitive gas mileage (17 mpg in city driving, 24 mpg on the highway) with its rivals but has more interior room and standard all-wheel drive--a feature that typically adds to a car's weight. The aluminum construction does not seem to sacrifice safety. Last year's aluminum A8 got top ratings for front-end crashworthiness from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Jaguar's just-introduced 2004 XJ series--a competitor to the Audi--also has an all-aluminum body. (The XJ8 sells for $59,995). Jaguar plans an all-aluminum body for the 2005 redesign of its XK coupe and all-aluminum also is a possibility for the next generation of the bigger-selling mid-size Jaguar S-type. Ford Motor Co., which now owns Jaguar, also is using a nearly all-aluminum body for its retro GT muscle car, which is scheduled to begin production in the spring of 2004.
Higher mileage requirements might spur the arrival of new, cheaper ways to make such cars.
Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic is another strong but light material replacing steel for some body parts. This plastic is 50% lighter than traditional steel and about 30% lighter than aluminum. Until recently, its high cost had limited its use to exotic cars costing more than $200,000. Mercedes-Benz has just shown the latest such supercar--its $250,000 SLR McLaren. The SLR has a carbon-fiber body--including the structure that would absorb the impact of a front-end crash. In addition, carbon-fiber plastic is spreading to somewhat less-expensive sports cars. The 2002 model of the $80,795 Dodge Viper introduced carbon-fiber structural support.
And some versions of the new Chevrolet Corvette--with most models selling between $50,000 and $55,000--will have carbon-fiber hoods. BMW says it has developed a new manufacturing process that cuts sharply the cost of using carbon-fiber plastic.
If such a process becomes more widespread, that could lead to carbon-fiber parts in less expensive cars. In addition, the steel industry is trying to stem its loss of business with a research effort to develop an ultralight steel auto body--which it says would be one-fourth to one-third lighter than a traditional steel body.
Costly repairs
While new materials are likely to help boost mileage in the long run, in the near term they could mean that collision repairs are more expensive and even hard to find. The Audi A8L has only about 25 sites in the U.S. and Canada certified for collision repairs, and the Jaguar XJ soon will have a similar number in the U.S. alone. One of the Jaguar-certified sites is John Eagle Collision in Dallas. Vernon Crump is body shop director there and 2003 chairman of the collision-repair industry's annual convention, the International Autobody Congress and Exposition.
Seek out a body shop certified by an outside organization.
Crump says that repairing such all-aluminum cars could be 25% more expensive. He explains that it requires special, expensive welding equipment, fresh training for technicians, and a separate, closed-off repair bay. (If steel dust from other jobs hits the aluminum, it causes blemishes in the surface). However, Crump notes that such high repair costs likely will moderate if aluminum cars become more widespread. He adds that carbon fiber body parts are relatively easy to replace, and that could help hold down repair prices if the cost of carbon-fiber plastic itself comes down.
Even the much more common fenders, hoods, and liftgates made of aluminum can result in added expense on collision repairs. "If the repair is being done in an independent shop without much experience with aluminum, the technician may just throw out the part and buy a new one because he doesn't know how to repair it," says Richard Klimisch of the Aluminum Association's automotive office. Such higher repair costs could potentially lead to higher insurance premiums. But a spokesman for State Farm, the nation's largest insurer of autos, says the company has not yet had to make adjustments for higher repair costs from aluminum parts.
Expanding training
The answer, says Klimisch, is expanding training classes in how to repair and weld aluminum. The association is encouraging efforts, he says, such as classes at local junior colleges. The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, known as I-CAR, also is taking a leading role in such training as a nonprofit but industry-affiliated organization
What to look for
If you are among the few with an all-aluminum car or even if you think that your accident-damaged car has some aluminum parts, look for a body shop certified to work with aluminum and with a separate bay for aluminum repairs. Whether or not you need aluminum work, your chances of getting a prompt, honest collision repair job increase if you seek out a body shop certified by an outside organization. Some shops have National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification. Others have an I-CAR Gold certificate for collision repair. Your insurance company may give you a list of preferred body shops, but still check them for certification.
Aluminum has gained the widest use for body parts.
Spreading use of aluminum, carbon-fiber reinforced plastics, and other new materials depends on how stringent government mileage regulations become. Congress so far has turned back efforts to raise the average mileage requirements for so-called light trucks (pickups, SUVs, and minivans) from the current 20.7 mpg to at least 27.5 mpg that is the current standard for cars. But legislators soon may reconsider the issue. The Bush Administration is studying proposals to change the corporate average system so that mileage requirements would be pegged to weight or size of a vehicle. Slow manufacturing processes, more than actual materials costs, have kept the price high for lightweight steel substitutes. Higher mileage requirements might spur the arrival of new, cheaper ways to make such cars.
Jerry Edgerton is an automotive writer whose work has appeared in Money and other national magazines. He also is the author of the book "Car Shopping Made Easy."
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