Cheaper, safer, greener

Dec 07, 2012 | 01:13 PM | Jo Isenberg

Tags  steel, aluminum, competitive materials, automotive market, Steel Market Development Instititute, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, EDAG, Inc. George Washington University

It’s no secret that steel has—and has had—the inside track when it comes to affordability among the handful of metals and materials racing full throttle to win a larger share of the automotive market. Even so, news to that effect is always welcome, particularly to the collective ears of Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), which rarely misses a chance to tout the attributes of the material it was formed to promote.

This time around, the Washington, D.C.-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did it for them in the form of a recently released report titled Mass Reduction for Light-Duty Vehicles for Model Years 2017-2025. The report, prepared by EDAG, Inc., Auburn Hills, Mich.; George Washington University, Washington, D.C.; and Electricore Inc., Valencia, Calif., examined mid-size body, chassis and interior vehicle systems and determined that basic lightweighting costs $0.46 per pound of weight saved ($1.02 per kilogram) using advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) compared with $1.55 per pound ($3.41 per kilogram) using aluminum.....