more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21818860/ I think that reducing weight on vehicles could be one of the most important trends developing in the near term in order to make vehicles more fuel efficient. It is likely to beat out gains in engine efficiency improvements. Also, lighter vehicles will make BEVs more likely as it reduces the size (and hence cost) of the batteries too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kram @ Nov 16 2007, 09:07 AM) [snapback]540499[/snapback]</div> Reducing a car's weight is good in so many ways, but it requires skill and is expensive to do. Also, insurance companies don't always favor exotic materials; they seem to make cars more costly to repair and can force the technicians at body shops out of their areas of expertise. I'd humbly suggest to domestic automakers, that the simplest way to reduce the weight of their vehicles is simply to make them smaller!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 21 2007, 10:25 PM) [snapback]542823[/snapback]</div> Ultimately, insurance companies would just pass on the cost of the lighter/stronger replacement material along to the policyholders in the form of higher premiums. Smaller sells only up to a point. Docvijay found a compelling reason to go with a Lincoln Navigator.... There is a market for larger vehicles; I think that some sort of consortium/partnership like what GM, Chrysler and BMW put together to develop the hybrid powertrain for the Tahoe/Yukon is a viable model for getting the weight out of the larger vehicles. The only way you will see efficiency north of 30 mpg on these larger vehicles will be by cutting the weight. A consortium/partnership spreads the cost among each of the participants.
