Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man
...with advent of airbags, one wonders *WHY* the auto industry hasn't gone back to tubing frames for weight and structural improvements? Nice thing about a tube is that it can simultaneously serve as a conduit for wires, hoses, cables, etc., heck even as exhaust piping!
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The technique of using the tubular frame is being used <for secondary tasks> in the bike industry (Harley, Buell, cottage industries).
Both the M/C and kit-car industry often use tube frames.
It boils down to how much alternative materials you want to use.
As long as car manufacturers want to continue producing metal shells, the pressed and welded body parts are more efficient than a cover-on-frame.
Using advanced composites, the weight of a VW Golf V can be reduced by 371kg (starting from 1360kg) without compromising safety or practical usefulness - and you can't even see it.
Evonik press release, Auf dem Weg zum Drei-Liter-Auto, PDF in German
Only they don't seem to realize the "3L car" had already been built a decade before
Nor that Volvo has a similar sized car that gets the same 3.9L/100km without resorting to exotic composites.
Imagine combining the the best of both technologies, rather than using one to counter the inefficiencies of the other ...