I Have One Word for You: Plastics - October 14th, 2007
SABIC Innovative Plastics recently picked up the 2007 Frost & Sullivan North American Technology Leadership Award for advanced automotive design. The company developed lightweight plastic materials that also get the nod for being environmentally friendly. Their lightweight resins and composite technologies are being used by General Motors and Hyundai in some of their concept vehicles, including the Chevy Volt to reduce mass and bring down CO2 emissions.
The Volt, a plug-in still in the concept stage, is intended to target the daily commute most people have to face. Right now the designers are saying it’ll run 40 miles on a single charge — a number that can only get better with the incorporation of materials like those produced by SABIC. We’re apt to see a lot of corollary technologies coming out of the development and evolution of vehicles like the Volt and sometimes it’s that one component that makes all the difference.
Turn the clock back 99 years and you have the Model T rolling off the assembly line with the inclusion of vanadium steel. Henry Ford had a chance to examine the wreckage of a French race car in Florida and discovered the vanadium alloy used in its construction, which allowed the steel to be lighter but with three times the tensile strength of the steel then availabe in the U.S. For the first five years of its production the Model T was the only car in the U.S. to use the vanadium steel and the material is responsible for the amazing durability of the Tin Lizzie, many of which are still in use today in the loving hands of enthusiasts and restoration experts.
You know the line from The Graduate, “I have one word for you: plastics.” That was 1967 and it looks like plastics will indeed make the difference in the hybrids and plug-ins that are concepts today and working vehicles tomorrow.
Posted on October 14th, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: technology |
Leave a Reply