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Plastics Producers Ready to Help Automakers Meet Mileage and Emission Goals, Urge Agencies to Expand Credit
ACC’s comments note that lighter weight materials, such as plastics and plastics composites, can help automakers reach CAFE targets, since less energy is required to power a lighter vehicle.
BASF and Hyundai Show Concept Car in India
Weight reduction was one of the main goals of the concept and they’ve managed to achieve that by using a lot of plastic components in place of metal counterparts.
New Coalition Supports Downweighting of Vehicles to Improve Performance, Fuel Economy and Safety
The Coalition of Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM) is the first known organization of its kind to coalesce the strengths and knowledge of the aluminum and plastics/composites industries with technology providers in design, fabrication and joining to accelerate the implementation of mixed-material solutions that will reduce vehicle mass.
BMW Makes Luxury Green with the Plastics in New i3 Electric Concept Car
In this video, Rich Steinberg, Manager of BMW’s Electric Program, explains how BMW uses lightweight, high performance plastics to make it’s new i3 concept car one of the most energy efficient cars ever designed.
The New Ford Escape Shows How Recycled Plastics Are Making Cars Greener Than Ever
In this video, Jason Sprawka, Marketing Manager at Ford Motor Company, explains how Ford uses twenty five recycled plastic bottles to make the carpeting in the their 2013 Ford Escape.
Why Cars Will Keep Getting Lighter
In an age of rising gas prices, automakers are getting particularly interested in putting their cars on diets.
Plastics at Work Behind the Wheel: Pics and Notes from the Detroit Auto Show
This week our Plastics Make It Possible® team traveled to the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit to see how plastics are being used in incredibly innovative ways to help make cars safer and more fuel efficient.
BASF Arrives in Motor City to Showcase Energy-Efficient Products Made Possible By Chemistry
Energy efficiency—a major triumph of chemistry—seems to have become a permanent fixture in today’s eco-conscious auto shows.
The Best of the 2012 Detroit Auto Show
Detroit's Cobo Hall was a busy place this week, as the world's automakers unveiled an inspired crop of attractive sedans (many of them hybrids, and some with a plug), sports cars, and concepts. Here's a look at the highlights.
"Reinventing Fire": How the Automobile Fits Into the Future of Energy
Amory Lovins sees 125 – 240 MPG sooner than you think.
Toyota Looks at Future with Bioplastics
Automakers increasingly recognize plastics as both a preferred design material and a way to improve car performance and sustainability.
Airless Tire Demo
Bridgestone showed off their Air-Free Concept tires at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The company plans to release versions developed for small scale use before moving up to standard vehicles.
Futuristic Concept Car From Mercedes-Benz Wins L.A. Design Challenge [PICS]
The concept car has different modes including a normal drive mode, a fly mode that allows the vehicle to hover above the streets and a climb mode that allows it to run up the walls of skyscrapers.
Toyota Fun Vii—The Car of the Future
The Toyota Fun Vii is a spectacular design concept unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The "Vii" stands for Vehicle, Interactive, Internet. It's a car, a gaming machine and a smartphone all in one.
US Government, Industry to Tackle End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling
The Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, the Vehicle Recycling Partnership of USCAR and the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council announced the signing of a five-year, multi-million dollar cost-shared cooperative Research and Development Agreement designed to maximize the cost-effective recycling of end-of-life vehicles.