Hello,
Quote:
Originally Posted by TELVM
Even with traditional & cheap steel there could be a lot of room for improvement:
Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) Project
The real problem is the vast majority of automakers and consumers couldn't care less about car weight reduction. As a matter of fact lots of people is convinced 'light cars are coffins' and 'heavy cars are safer', poor devils.
In the inmortal words of Sir Colin Chapman: "Simplify, then add lightness" .
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I'm glad you posted this -- it shows the potential of the material we use now. I notice that the strength of this lighter weight frame is almost 2X the standard methods -- and that would make it seem like it could be made even lighter?
I'll also throw out there that we should take the principle of "cradle to cradle" to our cars: can the materials be fully recycled, and not just "downcycled"? Because of paints, etc. the steel from cars must be used where lower purity steel can be used -- and then after that...?
William McDonough on cradle to cradle design | Video on TED.com