View Single Post
Old 01-18-2014, 04:04 AM   #28 (permalink)
redpoint5
Human Environmentalist
 
redpoint5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Oregon
Posts: 12,743

Acura TSX - '06 Acura TSX
90 day: 24.19 mpg (US)

Lafawnda - CBR600 - '01 Honda CBR600 F4i
90 day: 47.32 mpg (US)

Big Yeller - Dodge/Cummins - '98 Dodge Ram 2500 base
90 day: 21.82 mpg (US)

Chevy ZR-2 - '03 Chevrolet S10 ZR2
90 day: 17.14 mpg (US)

Model Y - '24 Tesla Y LR AWD

Pacifica Hybrid - '21 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
90 day: 85.85 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,316
Thanked 4,471 Times in 3,436 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile View Post
As for alu truck bodies, ask anyone who's got an alloy panelled car how easily they dent and how much more panel shops want to fix them. Doesn't seem like an ideal choice for a 'working' vehicle.
It doesn't cost anything to repair dents if you don't fix them. Trucks are meant for work, and stuff that is used for work get dents. I don't see cost of repair being a major concern regarding the body construction of a truck.

That said, I still think plastic is an ideal material in this regard. It's cheap, light, and resilient. Saturn's had plastic body panels, and a friend of mine showed how it could be severely deformed and still pop back to the original shape. Not only that, but infusing the color within the plastic means that you cannot scratch the color off. What does plastic have going against it?
__________________
Gas and Electric Vehicle Cost of Ownership Calculator







Give me absolute safety, or give me death!
  Reply With Quote