I’m suspicious when a fad takes off quickly. So it’s with a raised eyebrow when reading about the shift in manufacturing from steel to aluminum.

To learn more I speak with Dr. Jody Hall, Vice President of the automotive market at the Steel Market Development Institute.

Short answer – steel will win.

It’s not the first time aluminum has tried a takeover? “This isn’t the first cycle Keri, it’s just the latest,” she says.

It’s not as environmentally-friendly as you may think, it’s expensive to convert a factory from steel to aluminum, and maybe most shocking is that the two types of materials cannot be serviced by the same tools, or in the same service bay. What body shop can afford to duplicate everything?

Read it online at Autonet.

Favourite line

Hall explains that it takes more energy to produce aluminum than steel, and it produces an abundance of CO2 and emissions. “You’ve contributed to global warming before you even turn the key,” she says.

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