This article reports on the designs and uses of lighter materials for cars, which can decrease vehicle weight to lower fuel consumption, but satisfy safety and environment laws and meet customer demands for increased comfort and convenience. The ULSAB programme by a consortium of 35 steel makers is exploring the potential for using high-strength steels to reduce weight, and uses advanced manufacturing technologies such as laser welding, tailored blanks, and hydroforming. Many car makers are evaluating compacted graphite iron (CGI) for possible use in petrol and diesel cylinder blocks and heads. Aluminium can give an equivalent performance to steel, and save about 60% in weight; its components can be made by casting, forging, sheet and strip, extrusion, powder metallurgy, or superplastic forming. Magnesium is about 1.5 times lighter, but magnesium alloy parts have more dimensional stability than aluminium parts; magnesium damps vibration better than aluminium or steel. Titanium provides the strength of steel at about half its weight, but is expensive. Metal matrix composites for cars are based on aluminium or magnesium with powder or chopped-fibre reinforcement. Plastics are used to reduce weight for a wide variety of components throughout the car. Many different approaches to weight reduction are being used.

ON MATERIALS FOR LEAN WEIGHT VEHICLES

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