What are the pros and cons of plastic cars?

No. Can't do it. I've been in a couple of rather bad car wreaks, and walked away ONLY because of the fine Detroit steel wrapped around my body. I can be green and a safe driver-I plan my trips, etc.

Pros of a plastic car? Hmmmm...

Nope, can't think of any worth dying in a car wreak.

We have a fiber glass car now, love it --- no rust! Plastic would be even better! Although, I would like to see what the safety tests show. And they should be smaller than what we drive now and much more fuel efficient, run on a battery and bio fuels to be the perfect car.


GJ
Families Online Magazine
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com

This question to me is a no brainer. Plastic body cars are just as safe as metal cars. I have owned two Saturns and loved both. They both rated high on crash tests. Plus there are lots of other great things about them to. No dents!!! how great is that. My last metal body car was a Ford Probe and it had little dents where people opened their car doors and hit it, all over it. My two Saturns... not one dent. No rust either, plus plastic is lighter than steel. Lighter car = better gas mpg. They also are cheaper on insurance. Maybe because they don't dent? I love my 2005 Saturn Vue. The plastic panels are one of the main reasons i bought it. People need to open thier eyes and try new stuff.

bought one that was partially plastic. My concern- among those already voiced- is that the plastics will not be recyclable or degradable and will join the millions of tons that are buried or dropped in the sea annually as permanent toxic waste .

There are certainly some advantages, including a host of design options such as recurved shapes that cannot be made with metals. Their non-conducting properties allow embedding microchips and circuits anywhere, thus allowing a "computing" and network/environment aware car body with multiple sensors. Plastic bodies allow easier bonding of other materials such as solar collectors - in fact, allowing the entire car body to become a solar collector sandwich. Some plastics change shape with temperature, allowing for self-adjusting shading or aerodynamics. Like lens technology, plastics can be made adaptive - clear in low light conditions (problems for parking lot romance, however) and opaque in bright light. Already plastic parts are allowing body repairs to be done with thermal re-setting and other non-hammer/chisel techniques - and with color that goes completely through the part, scratches or wrinkles may no longer be an issue. The list could go on-and-on, but picture is clear(oh yeah, stealth technology and active skin camouflage..) - plastic will be the ultimate car (if we can just find some source of feedstock to make it, and fuel to run it - corn?).

Won't go into the arguments but everyone probably knows
the 'Vette was only sheet metal one year so there's a good answer
for all although a car made from carbon fibre would be nice if
in the publics price range.

who wouldn't want one?

i'd like malleable plastic! i could mould my hyundai into a bentley- what a hit that would be at the country club. i could shed my gardner's clothes and pose as a member...

I am a 62 year old male and I am still trying to find vehicles that offer some comfort, safety, and handling. These plastic "things" they call cars today are nothing more than cookie cutter types. When I learned to drive, you learned the rules of safety by knowing how to handle a vehicle with some weight to it. The shear weight of the vehicle being constructed of "real metal" gave the margin of safety we needed because we learned to drive...not aim our vehicles. Something that might have metal that might be thick enough to hold a can of peaches and then surrounded by plastic and inappropriatelly being referred to as a car is a joke. Heck even the plastics we had back in the day were heavier than they are today. I continue to drive the older vehicles and I will until I cannot drive any longer. Buy a plastic car? Why?

these lighter cars are way more dangerous to the tune of 7000 more deaths per gallon of gas they supposedly conserve. and what are the statistics on the true cost compared to steel over all. and what is the long term of using plastics of these kinds---we are already polluting the planet almost beyond repair ---we need solid unbiased objective data and answers and fast --and where are the engines that can get 100 miles to the gallon -- why aren't we more concerned with better economy and 100% consumption than going to lighter poor utilitarian cars that are only "safe and green" on the surface and not in reality

Plastic has been in automobile bodies in front and rear ends and interiors and various other locations for years. Plastics (and other materials with characteristics similar to plastic) really have many advantages. Whether we embrace the movement or not, as present day motor fuel becomes more and more expensive, more and more plastics and similar materials will find their way into our automobiles. (it takes less fuel to get a lighter vehicle up to speed) We are just going to have to accept the fact. Besides, your steel body is in auto heaven while the plastic body has a few more years, and at a lower initial cost.

One of the safest places in an electrical storm is inside an automobile. What happens to that safety factor om a plastic car? Imagine getting hit by lightning at 60 mph with no protection.

I too drove a 72 Dart. They look tough but not as tough as a 1949 model. However, the steel rusts and gets damaged. I drive a plastic car called a Corvette. They don,t use fiberglass any more. It is ding and dent resistent and can be touched up easily if need be. Here is the problem.....F = M A . The bigger a vehicle is and the faster it goes, the greater the force it creates. Inertia is another form of the problem. Once something goes, it doesn't want to stop. In the big old cars of the past, without seat belts and air bags, the passengers would bounce around in the vehicle like a ping pong ball upon a crash. The force created from the mass of the collision and the speed of the vehicles had to go some where. To lighten cars and get good gas mileage plastic is very important in a vehicle. But what about that force that happens almost instantly in a crash. It has to go somewhere and to prevent it from going through the passengers the auto engineers created the crumple car. Mercedes perfected this in the 1960's. The force is absorbed by the impact and the vehicle or parts of it (like the bumper) collapses. Thus making the passengers who are in a specialy designed cage in the vehicle, safe.
I have seen how in an instant, a sports car at high speeds hit a large SUV became a pile of rubble. The driver walked away. Yes the SUV had a lot less damage but you have to make compromises.

I drive a 2003 Toyota which has been dinged several times. The first time it was repaired by a tech using a 'magic color' technique and the second I dinged it myself which I plan to fix with underwater epoxy which sets up fast. As for the plastic parts the door panel plastic guards are useful in preventing dents except from the over prevalent SUV's. The plastic bumber covers are virtually useless since a hard whack will damage the shock absorbers which is an expensive deal

To me this is a silly topic as almost all of todays cars have metal subframes and bumpers. Todays fullsize cars are much safer than old cars.I have three cars, a 05 Chrysler 300, a 99 Mazda pickup , and a 1952 Chevy Styleline. I would much rather be in a wreck in either of my new cars than the 52. Yes the 52 is all steel and has big chrome bumpers but safety wise is a lot more dangerous. There is a misunderstanding that old cars are stronger but if you look at the weight of the vehicles ( where most damage and protection comes from) the 05 Chrysler weighs over 1000 pounds more than the 52, (4400 vs 3350). Small eco cars are the most dangerous and if you care about your family think before you buy. All the safety equipment makes these cars heavier. My 52 has no plastic except the knobs on dash and I would hate to hit the dash in an accident, but I do love the old look and feel of vintage vehicles.