Symbiote
When Alcoa was developing the first A8s with Audi, the biggest problem they faced was porosity during the moulding and extrusion processes. It was a pain to get right. This porosity caused the extruded crumple zones to crack and fail catastrophically. It's only when they started to control aluminium casting better that they started to use it in the "mainstream".
The welding processes used in the Ford GT are fairly innovative in that friction welding is used, but using a vibrating blade-type device.
Call me old-fashioned, but I'd still use the high-strength boron steels for car construction. Some of these high-performance steels these days are coming so close to Aluminium in strength to weight ratios that manufacturers are finding it hard to justify the cost outlay. Just think, an Audi A2 or VW Lupo 3L these days in all-steel structures would cost a third less.
Mohsin Sb.
The DeLorean was dogged from the start with an undeveloped development program. Think about it, a wobbly chassis (even after the input from Lotus), a 2.8 litre V6 engine that could put out only 120 odd BHP and a propensity for the electronics to fail at the worst possible moment wouldn't be a stuff of dreams for anyone.
The PRV engine itself came out at the worst possible moment. A 90° V8 cut down to a V6 with the worst possible balance known to man. They tried to redress the problem by staggering the crankpins, but it was like two 120° triples not quite balanced.
Still, the PRV has come to achieve a bit of success in the motorsports field with the Schlesser buggy in Paris Dakar, and the twin-turbo version in the Venturi.
Later!
Sami
