AUDI AL2 TO FEATURE ALUMINUM BODY
Engineers at the German auto maker Audi are creating a model through a design study that will feature an aluminum frame and body panels. The Audi Al2 “integrates large, load-bearing aluminum panels into a high-strength aluminum frame structure,” according to the company’s publicity materials. The concept model is being designed as an entry in the compact car segment.
The Al2 is being touted by Audi as a “high-efficiency car which takes up little space on the road, yet affords ample interior space for four adults.” In addition to featuring an aluminum body, a lightweight direct-injection engine is also being developed for the Al2 model. The company is touting the all-aluminum body as “the underlying principle . . . to reverse the trend towards increasing vehicle weight.”
’97 SCRAP CONSUMPTION LOOKS STRONG
Heavy aluminum scrap consumption in October means the U.S. was on pace in 1997 to consume nearly 15 percent more aluminum scrap than in 1996. Figures from the U.S. Geological Survey show U.S. consumers melted 10.9 percent more scrap in October 1997 compared to October 1996. In the first ten months of 1997, scrap consumption was ahead of the previous year’s pace by 14.8 percent. According to the USGS, just less than 4.1 million tons of aluminum scrap was consumed in the first ten months of 1997, compared to 3.57 million tons in the first ten months of 1996.