Prius body panels..why not make them out of composite

The side panels on my 1996 Saturn SC2 coupe were some sort of plastic. You could pound on them and they would give and bounce back. It was a selling point and after 10 years it didn't have any "dings". I imagine they would make the car lighter. You would need to reformulate the paint so it would be flexible like the panels. The frame was a cage to protect the passengers, much like the Prius.

 

At present, making composites is neither easy nor cheap. I've done a very small amount of work with composites, and yes, they are lighter and stronger. However, composite production is not yet (to my knowledge) fully automated, certainly not on the scale necessary for a production automobile.

Composites are not necessarily flexible. Some are, some aren't. It's all in how the composite is put together. What I worked with, and those I've seen, are all for rigid applications (airplane wings, rocket/satellite components, etc). These are all applications where a few pounds can make a huge difference in cost. Launches to orbit typically cost a few thousand dollars per pound, whereas most cars probably won't have a noticeable effect from a few pounds here or there. Now if you can start taking away several hundred pounds (possible with composites, though still expensive), then you start to get a significant effect.

 

It is a great idea...but there has to be some reason that it never really caught on with other vehicles. Maybe a safety issue, maybe an electronics issue (it is hard to wire a car when you can not find a ground because the panels are plastic). It could also be that the repair costs on those panels was too high when compared with metal.

 

If you get enough dings in something that holds its shape, then
you'll have those aerodynamic surface dimples that'll increase
your MPG!
.
... when the "golf cart" turns into the "golf ball" ...
.
_H*

 

I don't know. This is just a speculation: It could have to do with crumple zones as a safety factor. A body that takes an impact and then springs back into shape is not absorbing any energy. A body that crumples is absorbing energy. For safety you want the body of the car to absorb energy so that your own body doesn't.

 

Oops...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jul 10 2006, 08:54 PM) [snapback]284195[/snapback]</div>

What are F1 cars made of (where price is no object)? Composites (not plastic).

I think the Prius is ground breaking enough. Perhaps the next gen or the next hyper-mile hybrid will add some composite pieces.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(McShemp @ Jul 10 2006, 08:01 PM) [snapback]284247[/snapback]</div>

Do a google search for aptera hybrid and take a look at some of the results. I'm personally going to remain skeptical until they're in production, but it looks promising.

 

How about using hemp? No, I'm not advocating drug use. I'm thinking of using a renewable, sustainable resource as a substitute for metal. I recall a video, though I can't find it now, of a vehicle made from hemp that resisted the blows of a sledgehammer with minimal damage. Is it BMW that's using hemp for door panels?

 

What is the body of the Tesla made out of?