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      10-05-2012, 04:17 PM   #161
swamp2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Antares View Post
I was interested what a mixture of carbon and lightweight construction could and would bring to bigger cars, like 5er and 7er.
At the end it would be very nice to get a 7er that weights as much as the new F20 3er. Handling in everyday traffic would reach new levels.
However, there is always the price and a very slow progress in auto industry.
The investment in this lightweight would be very intense while the fuel problem at the opposite end (hydrogen cells or artificial oil) remains unsolved.

The fuel prices (heavily taxed here in Europe) are already having a heavy toll on work migration and "freedom" of driving. To manage to get independent from the tax hike would be a real revolution here
There is no doubt that the upcoming M3/4 will have an increased use of aluminum and composites. BMW has invested with SGL with an ultimate goal of bringing the price/lb of CF down. The unfortunate thing is that they have not reached their goal where widespread use of it is cost effective.

You might be interested in the big related discussion in this thread about the cost and weight benefits and barriers to manufacturing. Doesn't get real interesting for a couple of pages.
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