[pasbesoin]

Yep. Midwest metropolis (out in the suburbs, but still fairly dense). It's the rust.

Well, and in a few Chrystlers and a Ford I've been familiar with, the trannie. Kind of a race between the two factors.

Right now, I have an older Subaru that would be good for at least a few more years, except the rust has compromised the gas tank. And dropping that means dropping the drive train. And you can get it back together -- but how many parts do you end up having to replace, because the rust has gotten to them too badly. And then you're closing in on the value of the car.

If/when we switch to composites (and/or aluminum), with an electric drive train maybe localized at the four wheels, or at least "compartmentalized" and swap-able (1), then maybe the rust factor and overall longevity will improve. Maybe... I'm waiting to see what creative means corrosion demonstrates to further its entropy under this scenario.

--

1. And for the record, I'd still prefer a "hybrid" design with backup on-board generation from some type of chemical fuel, at least until electric penetration is thorough and cold-weather capacity is secured.

[ghaff]

Aluminum has some advantages--albeit at a price. [1] though it's not clear cut for a variety of reasons. It's also not just the structure but everything carrying fluids around or making up the suspension system. Corrosion is nasty--I used to be involved with the design and maintenance of offshore drilling rigs--and it's pretty much a constant battle that you never win.

[1] https://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/...

[Scoundreller]

An aluminum car is kinda like a gold car: Higher up-front cost, but higher resale value when it goes to the crusher.

We're short-sighted to require cars to show MPG before purchase. They should all require a spreadsheet showing Total Cost of Ownership dependent on expected annual highway/city mileage as input.

What's gas cost? How much extra is the hybrid? What's the scrap value?

Though I guess you can lookup insurance rates to figure out the scrap value (some cars are worth more parted-out than running).

[technofiend]

It makes me wonder what the designed and realized life times will be for new Fords with aluminum beds.