Performance Advantage

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Automotive aluminum builds a better car – bar none. Vehicles made with lightweight materials, like aluminum, can accelerate quicker and require shorter stopping distances than heavier vehicles. Auto aluminum can also improve vehicle performance by delivering improved stability and turning response, while reducing vehicle noise, vibration and harshness.

Additionally, lightweighting with aluminum decreases the slip angle between tires and the road for any given turning situation, allowing a vehicle to respond more directly and safely to steering inputs. The rigidity of aluminum’s structures puts drivers in touch with the road and provides more rapid and precise control.

Can automobiles both perform well and be environmentally friendly? Definitely. As proof in today’s world, the latest alternative fuel vehicles are putting this concept into action. For example, the 2010 Toyota Prius features many aluminum components to further optimize its hybrid powertrain including the hood, rear hatch, front suspension arms and brake calipers. As a result of Toyota’s use of lightweight aluminum, vehicle weight was reduced helping improve its zero to 60 acceleration rate to 9.8 seconds to help meet customer expectations for everyday performance.

More and more automakers are moving toward increasing vehicle performance, among other factors, through the use of aluminum. Automotive aluminum use has continued to grow for the last 40 years and is predicted to continue doing so. Today, more than one hundred 2009 model year vehicles in production contain at least 400 pounds of aluminum (or 10 percent of curb weight). View just a sample of the vehicles that exemplify the advantages of automotive aluminum.