The 2006 Maxima weighs 446 pounds more than the 1996 model.
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Lindsay Chappell |
Philip Nussel |
Automotive News / August 7, 2006 - 6:00 am Automakers are desperate to slim down - one part at a time.
Gasoline prices are climbing, yet cars and trucks continue to gain weight at the worst possible time.
According to a just-released report from the Environmental Protection Agency, the average 2006-model vehicle weighs a portly 4,142 pounds - nearly 500 pounds more than the average vehicle sold 10 years earlier.
So, like an overweight customer ordering an entree at a restaurant, automakers want the chef - in this case, suppliers - to take out the fat. During a July 11 roundtable discussion, supplier CEOs told Automotive News that weight reduction has become a top priority.
"Yes, we do have new (weight) targets for everything," said James Orchard, president of the North American operations for French seat maker Faurecia. "We're exploring all kinds of new materials."
Where's the beef?
The 2006 model year marks the heaviest vehicle fleet since the EPA began measuring weight in 1975.
In part, the weight gain reflects the growing popularity of pickups and SUVs over the past decade. But even within specific model lines, cars and trucks have added pounds (see chart).
The 2006 Toyota Avalon weighs 205 pounds more than the 1996 Avalon. After a decade of redesigns and feature enhancements, the 2006 two-door Honda Civic weighs nearly 400 pounds more than its ancestor.
Much of the weight gain is the result of motorists' taste for bigger, more powerful engines. The EPA report lists the average 2006-model engine at 239 hp, up from 179 hp a decade ago.
"Gadget creep" also bears some responsibility. Automakers are adding features such as DVD players, side airbags, bigger engines, backup cameras and cushier seats - all of which add pounds.
The easy path
Now that good fuel economy is a sales tool, the auto industry is scrambling to save weight. According to the American Plastics Council, every 10 percent reduction in weight delivers a 7 percent increase in fuel efficiency.
Mark Hogan, president of the diversified supplier Magna International Inc., told the roundtable that weight-loss directives now are occurring "on all the product programs that I'm seeing."
"I'm sure everybody else is seeing the same thing," he said. "The magnitude is more aggressive than the generation before."
A study group at Chrysler is reviewing its material thickness specs to determine whether a switch to composites might cut a few pounds.
Ron Blazic, of the Chrysler group's Body-in-White Center, says changes in body materials could deliver 30 to 40 percent weight savings compared with traditional steel.
By switching to aluminum panels for the hoods and trunk lids of its Dodge Magnum and Chrysler 300, Chrysler knocked off 15 to 20 pounds.
More aluminum
General Motors also used more aluminum in its new GMT900 trucks. Supplier SMW Automotive, of Warren, Mich., designed aluminum suspension arms that weigh one-third as much as steel arms.
Nissan and Honda also are adopting aluminum suspension arms. The shift from steel has prompted major steel supplier Kobe Steel of Japan to invest in aluminum forging capacity in the United States.
Last year, Denso Corp. developed an air-cooled 220-amp alternator. Typically, larger vehicles require either a large water-cooled alternator or two smaller units. Denso's innovation makes it possible for trucks and other large vehicles to carry only one unit.
Engineers at Magna's Decoma division used alternative materials for moldings on the Buick Lucerne. This knocked half the weight out of the car's outer belt moldings and 20 percent out of the rubber pieces used to channel away water. The net weight loss: 5 pounds.
In another slim-down effort, Mercedes-Benz engineers in Germany last year turned their attention to supplier ISE Innomotive Systems Inc., which makes the 42-pound steel front-end modules for the Mercedes R-class crossover.
Instead of constructing the entire module out of steel, the supplier switched to aluminum for its upper structure. The net weight loss: 2 pounds.
"Every little bit helps," observes Andreas Hackstedt, manager of ISE's plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "When you take some out from this part and a little from that part, you help the entire vehicle."
In all cases, the message from automakers is clear: Consumers won't have to give up size, comfort or horsepower. But suppliers will have to come to the rescue.
Weight watchers - Suppliers scramble to make vehicles lighter
(brownshirts!)
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