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      02-23-2012, 08:48 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkoesel View Post
Well of course, but since we don't yet know what their strategy is, it is perfectly valid to discuss and to speculate. Of course it is important to keep facts in mind as well, and it is great that Judah is contributing his knowledge in that regard.


I think that the move of CFRP into mainstream automobiles is fantastic. But, the drawbacks, whatever those might be, are certainly worthy of discussion.
Ah, my bad...I didn't want to come off as anti-discussion on a discussion board!

BMW has been moving this way with things like the plastic front quarter panels on the E92 and plastic trunk lids on the 6 series. (Does the new 6 have this too?) Carbon Fiber roofs in M cars are a natural extension of this..a part of the car where less weight lowers CG and improves driving dynamics, and can't get dinged in the supermarket parking lot!

I feel that CFRP is BMW's attempt to leapfrog the competition by skipping further incorporation of aluminum in its cars so it certainly carries the additional risk of pioneering new solutions rather than evolving the tried and tested ways of the past.

I guess my point, and my hope, is that with widespread industrial production of CFRP and the economies of scale this entails, we will see a commensurate reduction in price that may make future cars even cheaper and easier to repair.
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