Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragoneye
Why are composite body panels (fiberglass, etc) not being used as widespread as I'd have thought?
Corvette uses them. But why did the Camaro drop them, and the later-model Saturns? Is the material that expensive?
|
One of the biggest problems with using composite (RIM) body panels is thermal expansion. The body gaps have to be huge (6 mm on Saturns to account for door and fender expansion. So it can lead to some pretty nasty looking panel fits. And yes, it is more expensive than just stamping steel panels. I remember a number, can't verify it other than memory, but the Saturn ION was at an $800 piece cost disadvantage per car. The plus was dent resistant, rust resistant panels. But if the customer isn't willing to pay you more for that than your competition, it's not a very good business to be in. Same deal on the composite pickup box Chevrolet offered a few years ago. Dent and rust resistance in a pickup box seems like a really good thing. But as I recall it was a $600 option that no one would pay for.
The advantage of composite is generally less costly tooling which helps in low volumes.