Car Tech: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars?
- 6/6/07 1:57 PM
You make some good points, but...
by say592 - 6/21/07 11:18 AM In reply to: What do we know? by phrelinTo begin with, hydrogen is no more dangerous than petroleum based fuels. It can ignite at a slightly lower temperature than gasoline, but not enough to make it unstable. As far as exploding, it will be less violent than gasoline, because there would be far less of it.
Second, since plastic has been used it cars for several years now, Im pretty sure that we would know if it is more brittle. Besides, we already know that it is not nearly as strong as the metal bodies (although, it has its benefits: doesnt dent, shatters on impact not transferring motion, etc)
But, I do think that we need to remember the fact that plastic is made from petroleum. If we want to reduce our dependency on foreign oils, adding hundreds of pounds of plastic to our cars wont help.
What O.S. will it use?
by enawn - 6/8/07 10:36 AM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
I am a geek. So I am more interested in what kind of non windoze O.S. it will use.
They don't use either Windows or Linux...
by Cooltruth - 6/8/07 7:38 PM In reply to: What O.S. will it use? by enawnThe operating system in a car is STILL the nut behind the wheel (LOL!)
What are the pros and cons of plastic cars?
by siriusproductions - 6/8/07 5:01 PM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
So plastic bodies are lighter and save fuel, but what's the net effect of using petroleum to make those plastics compared with how much is saved in the form of fuel? It could be robbing Peter to pay Paul. There's also the pollution factor of making plastic vs making steel to be considered as well as the relative environmental cost of recycling each material. Also, what happens to a plastic roof if a car flips over in an accident and it slides along the road? How durable is plastic in that situation? Car manufacturers and regulators need to be sure they look at the long-term big picture, not a short-term, superficial benefit.
$SUV$ (Stupid User Vehicle)
by mlf1142 - 6/9/07 2:45 AM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by siriusproductionsHUMMERS, plus the SUVS, add a cup of a Soccer Mom, add a half dozen kids, add potato chips and soda pop for taste then blend in celphones and puppy dogs with babies in their car seats for a surprise taste then stir them all together and you have created a heaping mass of trouble with DOOM written all over it (along with stupidity).
Trouble when the soccer mom is disturbed by all of the confusion, gets priorities all disarranged and blows a red light with her massive leviathan battle wagon (that she's way too small and unexperienced to handle in the first place) with that massive heavy steel ladder frame under the body and being a good two plus feet higher than a normal vehicle called a "CAR", decides to broadside a car and kill the occupants inside that didn't have a chance in hell to escape do to them being decapitated by the bumper of that road battle wagon since it hit higher in the side and smashed through the CAR's window...
She gets out of her death machine and wonders why that CAR blows a red light and she had to hit him....(typical situation, she's NEVER at fault...it's the other guy who's to blame...)
..til the courts charges her with vehicular homicide...
"OH, the big safe vehicle called the SUV - protects families and the drivers...along with protecting their stupidity thinking that they are in a vehicle that is like the TITANIC ... unsinkable
(but, it's fun watching SUVS on icey roads...dang, saw lots of them slide off the freeways during the winter..."OH, the drivers think that they can't slide in their SUV's, for it a four wheel drive vechicle...DOAH, dumb people-you are creating more problems when a set of wheels can't freewheel to aid in controlling a vehicle!")
Yep, a vehicle like that big ship - top heavy, center of gravity way the boofoo up there, sucks gas to please the IRAQUI's and let alone being a credit card and lease payment trap: really pushing on that toilet handle and flushing the toilet every month.
Boy, does the automakers really love stupid people since stupid people have no sense of reality and rather live in a fantasy world. Thus, it's a supply and demand situation with the automakers and laughing all the way to the bank with the huge profits they're getting selling vehicles to stupid people....
....where stupid people need to wake up and tell the automakers that they are in charge and control of the situation and the automakers better make more fuel efficent,better designed and safe vehicles..for right now, the automakers and the oil companies are in control of this society and are laughing all the way to the bank
look up
by batman823 - 6/11/07 7:32 AM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by siriusproductionsThe questions you ask have been answered and discussed on some of the above posts. You have valid questions and they should be adressed. Also, these posts are from regular people in different specialties, just like you and me, so take them with a grain of salt and do some research if you want the truth. Or you could just trust the opinion of a person that sounds educated or at least intelligent.
Pollution & Petroeluem usage
by carolina1 - 6/21/07 8:07 AM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by siriusproductionsI understand your point, but it's pretty obvious that you have never been in a steel mill or foundry. Sulfur, lead, gas emissions, water runoff... plus steel doesn't melt itself. After you walk out of a steel mill you would wonder if it is really made of grease, hydraulic oil and water. Don't wear white! Read up on how much water one rolling mill uses in a day to make sheet steel. If I told you then you wouldn't believe me. Water Usage = amount discharged.
Plastic cars
by margsi2 - 6/9/07 4:36 AM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
My brother-in-law was going through an intersection in a Saturn Ion in the left lane. An intoxicated driver of a flatbed truck in the right lane decided at that time he wanted to make a left hand turn in front of my brother-in law. My brother-in-law was not hurt at all but the fairly new car incurred quite a bit of damage to the front right fender and hood, $4500 worth in fact. I would have considered that totaled and sent it to the junkyard. He called his insurance company who provided him with a talking rental car, much larger than his, of course. I just knew it was going to take weeks to repair that damage. This happend on a Monday night and by Friday he had the Ion back looking just like new! I couldn't believe it! They checked, everything mechanically was undamaged. They had all the parts in stock and all they did was replace them and paint them.
Not sure of your point
by Andy77e - 6/9/07 9:20 PM In reply to: Plastic cars by margsi2This could be true of any car regardless of constuction material used. As long as the replacement pannels are in stock, the fixes are quick and easy.
A cars ability to with stand a hit, has to be viewed over a wide angle, not judged on one single accident. In most cases a plastic car will incur more damage. This is because in a hit, the plastic absorbs less of the force, which is then passed on to the only metal in the car, that being the frame. In many, not all, cases, a bent frame totals the car.
As with plastic though, a metal pannel would be the same. Unbolt it, send it to the manufacture to be re-pressed or fixed, and pop a replacement pannel on the car after you paint it.
metal panels
by mwooge - 6/11/07 8:19 AM In reply to: Not sure of your point by Andy77eYou do not send metla panels back to the factory to be repressed. You put on a new panel and throw the bad one away.
For that matter, most metal body panels are spot welded in place, I believe. Removing a body panel is a major operation.
Hmm...
by Andy77e - 6/11/07 1:32 PM In reply to: metal panels by mwoogeThat doesn't seem to square with what I've seen. Now, I'm no body shop worker. I never did body repair. But if I remember right the guy at the dealership said he would just remove the panel and send it back to the factory. *shrug* As far as replacing, the new panel went back on the same way. No welding was needed.
I think newer constructions methods make replacing panels easy, not what material was used. Sadly, I don't have that guys number, and we've parted ways. So I can't call him up and ask him.
re-stamped
by wcoffey81 - 6/21/07 10:49 AM In reply to: Hmm... by Andy77emy guess is that the panel in question was a bumper cover and he was actually sending it to someone to be "reconditioned". i have never heard of an actual "factory" panel being repaired by the factory. the insurance industry is responsible for that because of the lower cost to do repairs. reconditioned can mean anything from " we cut three damaged bumpers apart and glued them together to make one "good" one" to someone heating the panel up and working out a damaged area. i would take a used OEM panel over a reconditioned one every day of the week! OH, the nightmares i have seen!!!!!!
Deformation
by joaco_g - 6/21/07 7:37 PM In reply to: Plastic cars by margsi2The combination of different metals and plastics is used to achieve minimum costs and maximum safty. By combining different materials car manufacteres create deformation points and zones designed to absorb the maximum of impact possible. So, in the past, when cars were truly harder than they are now, the one who took the entire crash impact was the passenger. Now, the energy absorbed in the impact is deviated into deforming the car and not breaking your bones.
deformation2
by wcoffey81 - 6/22/07 6:03 AM In reply to: Deformation by joaco_gyou are exactly correct but the major drawbacks come back into play. crumple zones don't repair and that leads to higher repair and insurance costs
Trucks
by colin1935 - 6/22/07 3:57 PM In reply to: deformation2 by wcoffey81Most truck cabs are a one peice fiberglass unit since the 1950s likewise roofs of buses someone earlier asked about tip over accidents the roofs stand up ok to that
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