Detroit’s Fascination With Aluminum Is Rekindled by Its Weight and Fuel Savings
Since the early 1970s, when Congress passed the first fuel-economy regulations, the auto industry has viewed lightweight aluminum as the most promising replacement for steel in passenger vehicles.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Despite some exotic experiments--the Audi A8 sedan, Acura’s NSX sports coupe and the Plymouth Prowler hot rod, for instance--the tinfoil lizzies haven’t quite taken over the nation’s roadways.
Even with gradual inroads, aluminum still accounts for only about 8% of the total weight of the average 3,100-pound vehicle. Steel remains supreme, constituting about 55% of the total weight of today’s autos.
But aluminum is now the focus of an aggressive new effort to replace steel in vehicles. And with improved technology, increased research and continuing environmental and regulatory pressure to reduce fuel consumption, the lightweight metal may be on the verge of a breakthrough.
“You will see more aluminum-intensive vehicles in the next five years,” said David Andrea, analyst with CSM Worldwide, an auto-supply consulting firm in Southfield, Mich.
Detroit’s increased interest in the high-strength, rustproof metal comes as the aluminum industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation. In recent weeks, Alcan Aluminium of Canada announced a proposed merger with two European producers and global leader Alcoa Inc. agreed to acquire its smaller U.S. competitor Reynolds Metals Co.
Although the mergers are unlikely to have much effect on prices, the auto industry--which accounts for nearly 20% of U.S. consumption of aluminum--is watching the developments closely.
The industry’s fascination with aluminum is being driven by the need to reduce vehicle tailpipe emissions and increase fuel economy. A 100-pound reduction in vehicle weight roughly translates into a one-mile-per-gallon improvement in fuel consumption.
Given proposed new federal and state emissions requirements, auto makers are being forced to find new ways to reduce fuel usage while satisfying customer demand for bigger, more utilitarian autos, such as sports-utility vehicles.
Aluminum offers a potential solution, but the drawback to greater usage is cost and complexity. The general rule of thumb is that aluminum weighs half as much as steel but costs twice as much. It is also more difficult to stamp and shape into body panels and large structural pieces. Repairs are also difficult and expensive.
These problems have until now restricted aluminum’s use mostly to under-the-hood parts; it has replaced cast iron in engines and transmissions, and is widely used for wheels.
“Truly there is a revolution occurring under the hood,” said J. Stephen Larkin, president of the Aluminum Assn., a Washington-based trade group.
Still, there is only about 250 pounds of aluminum in the average vehicle, about the same as plastic. The typical car contains more than 1,700 pounds of steel, largely in the structural frame and body panels.
In an effort to cut into steel’s dominance, the aluminum industry is pouring money into research and development. Alcoa alone has invested more than $200 million in recent years on auto-related projects.
In November, General Motors Corp. signed a 10-year, multibillion-dollar supply and research agreement to buy aluminum from Alcan. GM is the world’s largest user of aluminum, buying about 1.7 billion pounds a year.
GM, whose battery-powered EV1 coupe uses an aluminum frame, was motivated to sign the long-term deal to lock in prices. Aluminum trades as a commodity subject to occasional wild price swings; current prices are depressed because of a worldwide oversupply.
But just as important as price leveling, GM and Alcan agreed to work on joint projects aimed at expanding the use of aluminum in vehicles, including the potential development of aluminum-intensive vehicles.
“We will be able to design more cost-effective vehicles for customers that will provide environmental benefits and better fuel economy,” said Harold Kutner, GM’s purchasing chief.
GM is not alone in seeking greater uses for aluminum. Earlier this year, Ford Motor Co. acquired Troy Design & Manufacturing, a small Redford, Mich., company with broad experience in designing tooling for aluminum stampings.
Ford, which several years ago built a test fleet of aluminum-intensive Taurus sedans, is rumored to be considering building a small aluminum-bodied SUV under its Mercury brand.
Company officials will acknowledge only that they are looking at aluminum to improve overall fleet fuel economy, especially in Ford’s pickup and SUV lineup. The company’s experimental P2000 vehicle uses an aluminum frame and panels. It is being developed under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, an industry-government effort to develop an affordable 80-mpg family sedan.
“High-volume application of lightweight materials, including aluminum, is a key to increasing fuel economy and decreasing emissions to address governmental environmental concerns,” said Neil Ressler, vice president of research and vehicle technology for Ford.
The auto and aluminum industries also just formed a partnership, known as the Auto Aluminum Alliance, to develop strategies to reduce costs and overcome manufacturing and handling difficulties. The research is being conducted under the auspices of USCAR, the U.S. Consortium for Automotive Research, a joint effort of GM, Ford and their Detroit rival DaimlerChrysler.
Despite all the activity, there is no guarantee that aluminum will make substantial gains against steel. The steel industry has been working closely with the auto makers since 1987 to improve quality and develop new, lighter, high-strength alloys.
“They are not asleep at the wheel,” said Richard Schultz, aluminum projects manager for Ducker Research Co., a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., metals consulting firm.
Although he expects aluminum usage to grow gradually to more than 350 pounds per vehicle in the next few years, Schultz believes that aluminum will have a tough time cutting into steel’s dominance in body panels and frames.
The reason is cost. Schultz notes that replacing a steel frame with aluminum would improve fuel economy by 2.7 mpg but add $500 to the cost of each vehicle. Other emerging technologies, such as the use of continuous variable transmissions, would yield a similar fuel savings, but for only $100 more per vehicle.
“This has always been an uphill battle for aluminum,” Schultz said, “and it will continue to be.”
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Risky Business: A small San Diego County company has come up with a high-tech gizmo that could revolutionize lending to high-risk auto buyers.
Payment Protection Systems of Bonsall is marketing the On-Time Device, a wallet-size controller that can prevent a car from starting if the owner has missed a loan payment.
The device is installed in the vehicles of consumers with poor credit records. It requires customers to visit a payment center once a week to obtain a six-digit code when they pay their bills.
The code is punched into the device’s keypad. Entering the correct code turns on a green light and allows the car to be started. If a week passes without the right code being entered, a red light appears, a buzzer sounds and the car is disabled.
About 1,000 of the devices have been installed in vehicles nationwide. But two users recently sued Detroit auto dealer Mel Farr, a retired football star, claiming the devices caused their vehicles to stall in traffic. Farr denies the charges.
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Net Gains and Losses: Auto shoppers are increasingly using the Internet to help them buy a vehicle, according to J.D. Power & Associates.
Only 25% of buyers used the Internet in their auto shopping last year, according to Power, the Agoura Hills-based marketing research firm. But that figure jumped to 40% in the first quarter of this year and is projected to hit 65% by the end of 2000.
One warning sign for Detroit is that the more likely a customer is to spend time online, the less likely he or she is to buy a domestic make. Although the three Detroit auto makers hold 70% of the market, only 58% of Internet shoppers buy domestic vehicles, according to the Power report.
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Motor City reports news and trends in the industry. Donald W. Nauss, The Times’ Detroit bureau chief, can be reached at don.nauss@latimes.com.
