Carbon fiber

Well every bit of good news helps and this is no exception since crude oil has topped 42 percent to over $86 a barrel this year, with U.S. petrol prices reaching $3.23 a gallon and due to this situation Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest carmaker, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. have started to use carbon fiber and aluminum in experimental vehicles as they develop lightweight cars with high fuel mileage to win sales.

The 1/X concept hybrid car, weighs 67 percent less than Toyota's Prius model due to the useof a carbon-fiber body, will be unveiled at this week's Tokyo Motor Show. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to introduce its i-MiEV Sport, an electric concept car with an aluminum suspension and frame that weighs 120 kilograms less than if it were made with steel.

They are all trying to cut weight, with crude prices getting higher, the carmakers are trying to improve mileage with lighter materials or thinner pieces of metal. Japanese carmakers dominate fuel efficiency with hybrids. Toyota, Honda and Nissan make eight of the 10 vehicles with the best mileage.

Carbon fibesr, are also used in Boeing Co.'s 787 and Airbus SAS's A380 aircraft, is about four times stronger than the traditional material for airplane structures and weighs 40 percent less... Carmakers are also turning to aluminum, 33 percent lighter than steel. Mazda Motor Corp. will display a new rotary engine with aluminum substituted for steel in the side housings for the first time. The engine, to be introduced in the early 2010s, will be lighter and more powerful than the engine now used in the RX-8.

But for the time being there is a problem....Carbon fiber is a technology for the future and is a very expensive proposition, but it will take years of work before the carmakers can use it for mass production....