Car Tech forum: What are the pros and cons of plastic cars?

thats 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.

thank 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

it 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

you 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.

on 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.

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.

This 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.

Won't go into the arguments but everyone probably knows
the 'Vette was only sheet metal one year so there's a good answer
for all although a car made from carbon fibre would be nice if
in the publics price range.

Paultaut, You better do some reasearch. Kenworth and Peterbilt are currently building complete glued-together plastic truck bodies and having very good success with them. These are regular production trucks that are in normal service right now, not some futuristic experimental models. Yes, plastic is the future because it has many advantages over steel or aluminum. You might as well get used to it and start liking it.

I am a 62 year old male and I am still trying to find vehicles that offer some comfort, safety, and handling. These plastic "things" they call cars today are nothing more than cookie cutter types. When I learned to drive, you learned the rules of safety by knowing how to handle a vehicle with some weight to it. The shear weight of the vehicle being constructed of "real metal" gave the margin of safety we needed because we learned to drive...not aim our vehicles. Something that might have metal that might be thick enough to hold a can of peaches and then surrounded by plastic and inappropriatelly being referred to as a car is a joke. Heck even the plastics we had back in the day were heavier than they are today. I continue to drive the older vehicles and I will until I cannot drive any longer. Buy a plastic car? Why?

Come on now lets get real. No one in any right frame of mind is saying that the car is plastic as in the total structure etc. The fact is metal or steel called the outer skin or what ever you want is not any stronger in protecting anyone than a plastic skin car with a solid well-engineered cage for the greenhouse. The so-called steel body panels are just plain soft tin material incapable of protection and if anything a point of lacerations. I will say this again, I can cause serious damage to car or truck of most any make or model with my bare hands, a knee or an elbow to todays tin like body panels. Do you really believe that those panels offer any protection in a minor or major accident? The only thing they provide is help with wind coefficients stats and weather protection. Sorry but the steel body panels on vehicles today is just trash and where stuck with it no mater how much you spend. Unless of course you can afford an H-1 hummer that is now discontinued to the public.

Plastic has been in automobile bodies in front and rear ends and interiors and various other locations for years. Plastics (and other materials with characteristics similar to plastic) really have many advantages. Whether we embrace the movement or not, as present day motor fuel becomes more and more expensive, more and more plastics and similar materials will find their way into our automobiles. (it takes less fuel to get a lighter vehicle up to speed) We are just going to have to accept the fact. Besides, your steel body is in auto heaven while the plastic body has a few more years, and at a lower initial cost.

some of the newer high mileage tires lack an important ingreediant needed for proper grounding. that is carbon black. if the tires don't ground electricity has a bad habit of searching for a ground.

I drive a 2003 Toyota which has been dinged several times. The first time it was repaired by a tech using a 'magic color' technique and the second I dinged it myself which I plan to fix with underwater epoxy which sets up fast. As for the plastic parts the door panel plastic guards are useful in preventing dents except from the over prevalent SUV's. The plastic bumber covers are virtually useless since a hard whack will damage the shock absorbers which is an expensive deal

To me this is a silly topic as almost all of todays cars have metal subframes and bumpers. Todays fullsize cars are much safer than old cars.I have three cars, a 05 Chrysler 300, a 99 Mazda pickup , and a 1952 Chevy Styleline. I would much rather be in a wreck in either of my new cars than the 52. Yes the 52 is all steel and has big chrome bumpers but safety wise is a lot more dangerous. There is a misunderstanding that old cars are stronger but if you look at the weight of the vehicles ( where most damage and protection comes from) the 05 Chrysler weighs over 1000 pounds more than the 52, (4400 vs 3350). Small eco cars are the most dangerous and if you care about your family think before you buy. All the safety equipment makes these cars heavier. My 52 has no plastic except the knobs on dash and I would hate to hit the dash in an accident, but I do love the old look and feel of vintage vehicles.