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Old 11-14-2012, 03:06 PM   #58
Frank A
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 49979
Join Date: Dec 2003
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: MD, US
Vehicle:
11 need a 2nd STI
08 black TA STI

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Quote:
Originally Posted by manticus View Post
Their plastic car panels were as heavy as the metal panels, afaik, which was a big reason for not developing them further.
Our '02 Avalanche has the plastic cladding and weighs around 4400 lbs. For vehicles like this, a small increase in weight is a good trade-off for corrosion resistance. My first chevy rusted out from under me sadly, and with the increasing use of more corrosive road salts, I pity people in the NE. I thought the reason for dropping plastic was because people didn't like the way it looked.

Our Avalanche also has single-side galvanized sheetmetal, which you can't do to magnesium (I don't think) or aluminum. I just noticed rust starting to form on the car after >10 years of rarely washing it. If you can anodize magnesium like you can aluminum, I guess that would be something. Paint is BS. Piant gets chipped too easily and then rust happens rapidly. Not the way to go.

Frank
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