The reality of aluminum body panels.

[JDgreen227]

I always wonder why more car makers didn't follow GM's lead with the Saturn vehicles that used plastic body panels over a steel inner skin. My '04 L-300 body panels still look like new after sustaining 10 hard Michigan winters. The only complaints I have read about such construction is the wide gaps between body panels...to me that is a non-issue.

 

[coobie]

I always wonder why more car makers didn't follow GM's lead with the Saturn vehicles that used plastic body panels over a steel inner skin. My '04 L-300 body panels still look like new after sustaining 10 hard Michigan winters. The only complaints I have read about such construction is the wide gaps between body panels...to me that is a non-issue.

I thought the late 1990,s and 2000,s model buick lesabres had the same plastic body panels?We have owned 4 lesabres(1993,2000,2002,2005) and for the most part they have been rust free.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I always wonder why more car makers didn't follow GM's lead with the Saturn vehicles that used plastic body panels over a steel inner skin. My '04 L-300 body panels still look like new after sustaining 10 hard Michigan winters. The only complaints I have read about such construction is the wide gaps between body panels...to me that is a non-issue.

I owned 2 Saturns and loved the plastic bodies. Rest of the car was hit and miss.

Chris

 

[KennyG]

I think the bean counters explanation is that anti corrosion advances on steel bodies have brought them to the point that most cars wear out before the body rusts through and therefore, the plastic is not cost effective. Also there are overall weight advantages in using the metal body as a structural component. I would like to see more plastic bodies though. Maybe the next generation carbon fiber F-150?

 

[MossRoad]

I owned 2 Saturns and loved the plastic bodies. Rest of the car was hit and miss.

Chris

Last year we went looking at used cars for my daughter. We looked at a couple Saturns. The bodies has some scratches and actual holes in the corners of the doors where the plastic had cracked. But, comparatively, those holes were no worse than rust holes on a metal body and they weren't going to get progressively worse, either. We were bummed, however, by the condition of the metal under the car. The frames were rotten. So, the cars looked a lot better for other cars of equal age and mileage from the outside, but were just as susceptible to rust underneath. But I sill like the concept. I also liked the plastic bodies on the Fiero's. :thumbsup:

 

[mikehaugen]

I think the bean counters explanation is that anti corrosion advances on steel bodies have brought them to the point that most cars wear out before the body rusts through and therefore, the plastic is not cost effective. Also there are overall weight advantages in using the metal body as a structural component.

I think just the opposite is true. They have gotten better, but around me the powertrain will long outlive the bodies.

I do believe the weight thing though.

 

[MossRoad]

When I was younger, I read a story about the Fiero and how it was made. They built the frame on a jig with boxes on the frame filled with epoxy or something like that. Then the frame went to some machine that drilled all the body mounting holes into those boxes at the same time. When a Fiero got wrecked, all they had to do was repair/straighten the frame to factory specs, fill the boxes with epoxy and redrill the holes. It was called the space frame. Here's a good story on the history of that car...
Kill Your Darlings: The Birth and Death of the Pontiac Fiero - Ate Up With Motor

 

[JDgreen227]

Last year we went looking at used cars for my daughter. We looked at a couple Saturns. The bodies has some scratches and actual holes in the corners of the doors where the plastic had cracked. But, comparatively, those holes were no worse than rust holes on a metal body and they weren't going to get progressively worse, either. We were bummed, however, by the condition of the metal under the car. The frames were rotten. So, the cars looked a lot better for other cars of equal age and mileage from the outside, but were just as susceptible to rust underneath. But I sill like the concept. I also liked the plastic bodies on the Fiero's. :thumbsup:

Just wondering....what was the age and approximate mileage on the cars you looked at? My Saturn is a low mileage 67,000 mile example that had been babied which probably explains why is it pristine....your input will determine whether I trade it in this fall for an Equinox...thanks for your opinion !!!!

 

[piercedtiger]

I always wonder why more car makers didn't follow GM's lead with the Saturn vehicles that used plastic body panels over a steel inner skin. My '04 L-300 body panels still look like new after sustaining 10 hard Michigan winters. The only complaints I have read about such construction is the wide gaps between body panels...to me that is a non-issue.

My Toyota Tacoma has a plastic bumper, grill headlights, fog lights, and fender flares. I hate it. A turkey bounced off the right corner of the front bumper and under the tire. That bounce flexed the "bumper" enough to break the fog light and headlight mounting tabs as well as the small metal brace behind it. There's ZERO structural support there. It's just for aerodynamics and covering components.

When I hit a deer the inside edges flexed up and down like squeezing one side of a water balloon. So even though the deer hit the driver side of the bumper, it snapped every freaking mounting tab across the front of the truck! I had to replace both headlights, grill is zip tied in place for now, and I replaced the plastic crap with a plate steel off road bumper. It wouldn't be as bad if the plastic dented in and popped back out, but it doesn't. It flexes and breaks everything else it's attached to. Oh, and the dealer quoted me $1900 for just the plastic pieces, no metal, no repair! Just swapping parts. I paid $1,000 for the steel bumper, and maybe $100 for 2 headlights off RockAuto, and called it a day. A year later I hit another deer and just wiped some fur off the winch cutouts.

 

[JDgreen227]

My Toyota Tacoma has a plastic bumper, grill headlights, fog lights, and fender flares. I hate it. A turkey bounced off the right corner of the front bumper and under the tire. That bounce flexed the "bumper" enough to break the fog light and headlight mounting tabs as well as the small metal brace behind it. There's ZERO structural support there. It's just for aerodynamics and covering components.

When I hit a deer the inside edges flexed up and down like squeezing one side of a water balloon. So even though the deer hit the driver side of the bumper, it snapped every freaking mounting tab across the front of the truck! I had to replace both headlights, grill is zip tied in place for now, and I replaced the plastic crap with a plate steel off road bumper. It wouldn't be as bad if the plastic dented in and popped back out, but it doesn't. It flexes and breaks everything else it's attached to. Oh, and the dealer quoted me $1900 for just the plastic pieces, no metal, no repair! Just swapping parts. I paid $1,000 for the steel bumper, and maybe $100 for 2 headlights off RockAuto, and called it a day. A year later I hit another deer and just wiped some fur off the winch cutouts.

Tell me about it!!!! Had a 2004 Buick Lesabre and my ex backed it into the rear hitch of my GMC...punched a 3" square hole in the rear fascia of the car and it cost nearly ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS to replace the "bumper" fascia and paint it....had it been a steel bumper it would have barely dented it....I HATE THE PLASTIC S*IT THEY USE FOR BUMPERS TODAY....HATE THEM!!!!