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Car Tech: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars?
- 6/6/07 1:57 PM
Plastic Cars
by bgunn - 6/21/07 5:15 PM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
No. Can't do it. I've been in a couple of rather bad car wreaks, and walked away ONLY because of the fine Detroit steel wrapped around my body. I can be green and a safe driver-I plan my trips, etc.
Pros of a plastic car? Hmmmm...
Nope, can't think of any worth dying in a car wreak.
safety
by wcoffey81 - 6/22/07 6:31 AM In reply to: Plastic Cars by bgunnthats why i made my earlier post concerning closed systems. a gated community where the speeds are limited and everyone is driving the same thing would be perfect for small, high efficiency modes of transportation.
Plastic Cars Aren't All Plastic
by Coloboma - 6/23/07 10:22 AM In reply to: Plastic Cars by bgunnI don't think the original subject means the entire car would be plastic. A totally plastic car would be a death trap.
A tubular frame and cage with plastic panels would be the best of all worlds. A tubular cage is much stronger then the strongest old Detroit Iron. Plastic panels, if properly executed, would be very duable and cheap to replace if they did get broken. The tubular frame/plastic body combo is both the lightest and strongest possible. A 3500 Lb., 5 passenger car could drop to 2500 Lbs, and be light enough for an efficient 175hp diesel engine. Now you're talking about great performance, 50mpg, and excellent safety.
Pontiac had the right idea with the Fiero, but it was poorly executed, and perhaps ahead of its time.
plastic
by wcoffey81 - 6/23/07 11:27 AM In reply to: Plastic Cars Aren't All Plastic by Colobomathank you, thank you, thank you! i agree completely, if the fiero were built today with some modern engineering i would get one in heartbeat. i would buy it and apply a lot of common sense to the purchase. drive it to work, get groceries and bop around. it's not something to load a bunch of stuff in with the wife and head across the country in. use it for what it's made for, that's the secret! if you are driving your insight cross loaded with the family,cut off a triple-bottom semi on the turnpike at 70mph just to make an exit and it results in a death to one of your family members.... IT'S NOT THE SEMI DRIVERS FAULT!!!!! i wish there was a way to isolate the common- sense gene in people
fiero
by wcoffey81 - 6/25/07 7:05 AM In reply to: Todays fiero by ecclesit was a shame too. because in 88 they used a redesigned suspension and they finally got it right. i guess the difference in handling is like night and day
Pro for plastic cars
by rockgjmom - 6/21/07 5:47 PM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
We have a fiber glass car now, love it --- no rust! Plastic would be even better! Although, I would like to see what the safety tests show. And they should be smaller than what we drive now and much more fuel efficient, run on a battery and bio fuels to be the perfect car.
GJ
Families Online Magazine
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com
electric
by wcoffey81 - 6/22/07 6:27 AM In reply to: Pro for plastic cars by rockgjmomyou as well as others make the point of electric power for cars. now i want to ask all of you a question. would you pack up your family and move them right next to a nuclear power plant??? i don't mean 30 miles upwind either i mean right next door!!! because that electricity has to come from somewhere and unless it's nuclear, hydo or geothermal something is being burned to create that power.
UK
by wcoffey81 - 6/23/07 10:04 AM In reply to: Sizewell Suffolk UK by colin1935on your side of the pond views of that sort of thing are very different than they are here in the USA. we have a very serious problem with the acronyn "NIMBY" for those of you that don't now what it means it's: Not In My Back-Yard. the tree huggers of America have a very loud voice and unfortunatly sometimes they are a very ill-informed group. we are constantly being bombarded with ststements about how great the world would be if everyone here drove electric cars. AS LONG AS THEIR HANDS STAY CLEAN WHEN THEY PLUG-IN THE CAR ALL IS WELL!!! but they would turn up their noses if you suggest them to live near a coal mine or directly upwind of a coal fired electric plant and GOD FORBID ever building another death trap nuclear powered plant.
NIMBY
by carolina07 - 6/25/07 1:43 PM In reply to: UK by wcoffey81I'm usually a green person. However, I hardly drive anywhere. I bet I use less gas than people who drive plastic cars. Gas usage isn't all about the car; it is about the driver. Who said that about the driver being the operating system? Right on! I love my gas guzzlin' volvo wagon. I plan to keep it until God decides it shall be no more.
What you see--isn't always what you think is going on....
So think about that when you see someone driving a heavy car. Maybe he or she is still green--just not in the most obvious of ways.
I own a plastic body car
by jenaylor - 6/21/07 5:48 PM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
This question to me is a no brainer. Plastic body cars are just as safe as metal cars. I have owned two Saturns and loved both. They both rated high on crash tests. Plus there are lots of other great things about them to. No dents!!! how great is that. My last metal body car was a Ford Probe and it had little dents where people opened their car doors and hit it, all over it. My two Saturns... not one dent. No rust either, plus plastic is lighter than steel. Lighter car = better gas mpg. They also are cheaper on insurance. Maybe because they don't dent? I love my 2005 Saturn Vue. The plastic panels are one of the main reasons i bought it. People need to open thier eyes and try new stuff.
lighter
by wcoffey81 - 6/22/07 6:19 AM In reply to: I own a plastic body car by jenaylorvery few of the outer panels of your Saturn are any lighter than the same panels if stamped out of steel plus the sub-structures need to be at least as heavy. i'm 100% positive that if you were to check the curb weight of every vehicle in that class you will find that they are all very close
Absolutly true!
by Rick1600 - 6/25/07 2:00 PM In reply to: I own a plastic body car by jenaylorThis person knows, I'm tired of reading crap that polymer bodied cars are useless. Look at stats in Car magazines!! Why is it Saturn Aura is #1 in America???? And by the way, how long has GM been making the VET??? All for now, love my Saturn, no rust, 46 mpg. Rick.
Yes, I would and have in fact
by fire1fl - 6/21/07 6:23 PM In reply to: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars? by wcunning
bought one that was partially plastic. My concern- among those already voiced- is that the plastics will not be recyclable or degradable and will join the millions of tons that are buried or dropped in the sea annually as permanent toxic waste .
There are certainly some advantages, including a host of design options such as recurved shapes that cannot be made with metals. Their non-conducting properties allow embedding microchips and circuits anywhere, thus allowing a "computing" and network/environment aware car body with multiple sensors. Plastic bodies allow easier bonding of other materials such as solar collectors - in fact, allowing the entire car body to become a solar collector sandwich. Some plastics change shape with temperature, allowing for self-adjusting shading or aerodynamics. Like lens technology, plastics can be made adaptive - clear in low light conditions (problems for parking lot romance, however) and opaque in bright light. Already plastic parts are allowing body repairs to be done with thermal re-setting and other non-hammer/chisel techniques - and with color that goes completely through the part, scratches or wrinkles may no longer be an issue. The list could go on-and-on, but picture is clear(oh yeah, stealth technology and active skin camouflage..) - plastic will be the ultimate car (if we can just find some source of feedstock to make it, and fuel to run it - corn?).
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