Aluminum a good idea in cars/trucks?

[desura]

The F150 and the Tesla both have aluminum bodies.

Good idea? The gas mileage improvements are there, but the cost in extra fabrication and repair costs is pretty high, like 3x.

 

[PottedMeat]

i was wondering the same thing and ran into this interesting article -

http://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/tmv0714-designing-aluminum-vehicles

the heavy truck industry did the same thing a few years earlier

With the F-150, analyists estimate aluminum body panels add $1,000 per truck in costs, a significant portion of its overall value.

 

[KentState]

Compared to steel, it's better from a weight perspective.

 

[jlee]

Aluminum doesn't rust. That's nice.

 

[leper84]

People pitched a fit when aluminum heads and blocks came out, now you'd be hard pressed to find an iron block that wasn't in a truck. Give it a few years and more makes will follow suit.

 

[Fenixgoon]

i was wondering the same thing and ran into this interesting article -

http://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/tmv0714-designing-aluminum-vehicles

the heavy truck industry did the same thing a few years earlier

yes, but now you end up with a frame that's worth about $1000 in scrap at the end of its life.

aluminum is the most recyclable material on the planet, and it takes only like 5% of the energy to recycle vs. extraction from ore.

 

[natto fire]

I think it is a great idea from a weight savings and corrosion resistance standpoint. Carbon fiber monocoques have been in exotic cars for a while now, and offer even more weight savings.

As far as repair costs, that is up to the actuaries and underwriters of insurance policies to figure out. They can't spend all that dough we throw at them for stupid advertisements and leasing fancy office buildings forever. At some point they will have to do their due diligence before another company rises from the ranks and offers the same scam at a lower price.

 

[WackyDan]

yes, but now you end up with a frame that's worth about $1000 in scrap at the end of its life.

aluminum is the most recyclable material on the planet, and it takes only like 5% of the energy to recycle vs. extraction from ore.

They have been using aluminum in body parts (hoods) for years.

Secondly, the F-150 frame is still steel. The body is all aluminum. My 2012 just has the aluminum hood.

 

[Carson Dyle]

My Subaru Forester has a steel body, but an aluminum hood. We've had one good heavy hail storm in each spring of the past three years. The hood gets damaged every time, but it never leaves a single mark on the rest of the body panels.

 

[Yuriman]

I have a 16 year old car with an aluminum unibody, and I couldn't be more happy with it. Zero rust is a beautiful thing, the weight savings are huge, and you can really feel the difference in stiffness. It has never been damaged, so I could concede a use for steel in vehicles you expect to beat the hell out of, at least in terms of repairs, but aluminum does exceptionally well at surviving salt.

 

[Fenixgoon]

They have been using aluminum in body parts (hoods) for years.

Secondly, the F-150 frame is still steel. The body is all aluminum. My 2012 just has the aluminum hood.

i wasn't saying which cars are aluminum framed or not. i meant if you went all aluminum throughout the entire structure, you'd make up that cost different at the end of the vehicle's life.