Tomato Skin Can Make Cars Lighter?

It seems kind of odd to claim 'making cars largely out of aluminum....is not really economically viable at the moment', and after skip a sentence follow it with acknowledgement that Ford has announced the next F-150 will be made largely out of aluminum.

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Is the article suggesting that Ford's plan for the F-150 is not economically viable?

Well, it was not my intention to praise or acknowledge Ford (for their F-150), i just mentioned a recent associated event. Ford knows that aluminum prices are rising and is exploring other long-term solutions.

BTW, I really enjoy your discussions :).

Mercedes Benz use to make several models out of aluminum. But I am not around them anymore to say that they still do it now. The main thing they were doing it for was the weight savings of the entire car and the anti corrosion capabilities. Chrysler and Pontiac also did several cars with light weight aluminum front ends and doors on them as well in the sixty's for their serious race cars. As well as Buick in the 80's made their hoods out of aluminum, we use to buy cars to switch the hoods and put them on Malibu's. It would save about 80 lbs on a race car on the front end, which was where we needed to remove the weight. Duke

But why, specifically, tomato skins? There have to be many other food processing byproducts that these bioplastics could be manufactured with.

Personally, I've noticed that tomato skins go right through me..pretty robust stuff. Perhaps the originator of the idea had an epiphany in the bathroom.

I remember a few years ago Nigeria was poised to make auto body materials out of sisal and resin. (not fiberglass, but resin glass). I believe the project crumbled like so many for a hundred bad reasons. Not the least of which is that it was difficult to guarantee a safety zone which was laid up by hand. The classic engineer's nightmare.

However, now with crumple zones being mandatory, most aluminum vehicles will need a LOT of engineering to allow crumple zones to even exist, let alone work properly as a safety feature.

I wonder if ALCOA's 3 billion dollar purchase of a major aerospace parts supplier recently had anything to do with the press releases. I can see their share prices soaring at the announcement of an aluminum F-150 truck body, a potential multi-billion dollar contract. Whether true or not! They had a nice jump in the stock prices to go after and actually GET Firth-Rixon!

I hate working with aluminum. It rusts just as badly as steel when it gets hit with road salt, its a pain to weld, it is way more expensive than steel, and to get the same strength as steel, you need to practically double and triple it up. Good for airplanes, I hate them on cars. And when it comes time for them to go to that great junkyard in the sky, you have to separate out the aluminum from the steel, because they should not mix in the recycling yard. (can't just crush 'em like we do now.)

OTOH, aluminum is very recycleable and already done.

No, that's not right... It was Sisal-resin, as opposed to fiber glass. Might have been a contenda! (or should that be resin-sisal. No wonder the initiative slipped into the great dark hole.

Now we have the tomato stuff. Is this a green initiatiative or a red initiative. I remember the piles outside Leamington of red tomatoes...though other days they were green tomatoes, and I presume they dyed the product. Other days, well, we won't mention the other days.

Heinz Ketchup was made in Leamington for more than a hundred years. They employed a LOT of people, who all have great memories. For instance this one, of Stompin' Tom Connors in a smokey bar. The graphics were pretty cool...one thinks that perhaps Heinz actually used Stompin' Tom Connors for an advertisement. Alas, it was just the way they did things back then. PEI, for those barbarians out there is a small province on the east coast of Canada. Hope you enjoy the music, and a few of the other selections on the right hand side. Here is a special one for you over there Old Salt!

Except, I won't drive the thing unless it is made from Non-GMO organically grown tomatos!

Rather than this obsession with light density materials (which is not an entirely bad thing in and of itself), why not concentrate on novel techniques for more efficient drive trains, such as hydraulic accumulators, and hydraulic motors? A tremendous weight savings is possible in that way, even to the extent a 28 HP motor is enough to power a sedan on extended trips. Another concept is the radial steam piston engine, where there is no need for a transmission at all. Weight savings translates into increased fuel economy. External combustion is readily controllable to the point that there is a reduction in particulate emission, a reduction in CO, and NOx, also, and with the improved fuel economy, there is less emission outright from less fuel burned per unit time.

Where can I source out a 28 horse power radial steam engine? The google verse has let me down. Again.

Hmmm, I see what you mean.

I would guess it probably has something to do with the logistics of providing horses in quantities that are multiples of seven rather than any problems with power radial steam.... because who doesn't have access to that?_{Rhetorical questions, who needs'm?}

I do not know for sure you can purchase one, but you could try this:

www.cyclonepower.com

The 28 HP engine I was refering to was the one for the INGOCAR, which is an ICE, that uses opposing piston design, and that is specifically designed to pressure up the hydraulic accumulator on that design. The cyclone power car design is front (or rear) wheel design with the engine mounted on the drive axle. There is no transmission, so that weight is conserved. Cyclone makes engines all the way from a string trimmer size to a 3MW engine, as I recall.

Reminds me of the set up in the Dobles. _{I usually find Jay Leno to be a barely tolerable boorish blow-hard, but I enjoyed this video, certainly in part because something blows up in his fat face, but for the review of the Doble as well.}

Thanks! I really enjoyed learning about the Dobles steam car!

This is very similar to what Cyclone power has with the following exceptions: (1) radial engine design with a new proprietary spider, (2) advanced materials in the cylinders and pistons that allow for the simple lubricity of water, thus no need for oil injection along with problems with oil-water separation, (3) cyclonic flame motion retains any particulates in the burner can (where steam coils reside) until these are totally consumed in the flame, (4) better control over fuel/steam rate, (5) faster warmup rated to 30-60 secs on a very cold day, even if condenser is iced up, (6) air flow management prevents burn out of metal components, and (7) a much more compact design that can be scaled for all applications where ICE is currently employed.

Concept...

Hmmm. It is becoming clear. The rotary engines are on the wheels. Good thinking.

"This composite plastic can then be used to manufacture various parts, including storage bins and wiring brackets.

If more components were made out of such lightweight materials, vehicles would be much lighter, resulting in considerably lower fuel consumption. "

HUH? The wiring brackets and plastic bins are what's responsible for our American vehicles getting crappy fuel mileage numbers? All of my experimenting and tweaking over the years lead me to strongly believe that lame irrelevant emissions requirements and the systems that went into making a vehicle meet those regulations were where all my excess fuel and engine efficiency were disappearing.

So had I removed those massive 2 - 3 pounds of plastic cup holders and bins instead of the 10's of pounds of emissions related gear and restrictive exhaust components I could have gotten my increases on my 2 - 3+ ton vehicles instead?