Obviously, we chose aluminum over steel because of the substantial weight advantages. Aluminum is about one-third the weight of steel. Use of aluminum resulted in the Insight white body weighing nearly 50 percent less than the current Civic Hatchback white body. Yet, aluminum presents many challenges. As a material, aluminum is generally less rigid.
Aluminum tears easily when stretched, during the stamping of complex shapes.
So, sometimes this would require a split into several parts. Thus, this process would need more parts and result in more dies, welding processes and jigs - which also increases the cost. It was a breakthrough when it was introduced in 1990. For Insight, our fuel economy target again mandated that we use aluminum. There is no law that says environmental vehicles have lower safety standards.