The Future of the Auto Industry 2

The pressure for developing more fuel-efficient vehicles has been increasing more than ever before along with the rising international concern regarding to the global warming issue. Auto makers have been desperately researching and developing new ways to reduce consumption of petrol for their products. Using lightweight materials is an effective measure to meet the target. The approach will bring other positive outcomes as well. The acceleration and the agility of the car will be improved, and the car will be able to stop in shorter distance. The material which is generally used for auto body is steel, but aluminum is used for some expensive cars. An aluminum-made car is about 200 lbs lighter than a steel-made car. Furthermore, using carbon-fiber composite material for the body would even be able to shed the weight off more. The material is so light but very tough, and is used for the body of the Space-Shuttle. The cons are that the material is expensive and is difficult to shape it for an auto body. However, some industrial material makers have already developed a new method to shape the material more easily, and the cost of the material could be reduced by mass-production.