AAA is urging automakers to ensure that all models come with a spare tire, arguing that inflator kits are an inadequate alternative.
Chevrolet's 2016 Cruze compact car enters its second generation with a model that's 250 pounds lighter than the outgoing model and is expected to return 40 mpg highway, General Motors has announced.
The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu has slimmed down by 300 pounds from the outgoing model by using more aluminum, a leaner body structure, streamlined instrument panel, softer interior materials, and a lighter engine.
Mercedes-Benz will bring its GLC luxury SUV to dealers in November as a 2016 model-year replacement to the GLK-Class with a greater range of features and significantly lighter-weight construction for improved fuel economy.
Among the top trends influencing commercial fleets are an increased focus on designing upfit equipment to enhance safety and driver productivity, greater use of lightweight materials, and standardization of upfit specifications.
Ford will ramp up the use of carbon fiber in its vehicles as a light-weighting strategy, following an agreement with supplier DowAksa to lead to high-volume automotive use of the material that's most been used in exotic, luxury vehicles.
Porsche has broken new ground as the first vehicle manufacturer to use a magnesium outer body panel with the roof of its 911 GT3 RS that debuted at the Geneva International Motor Show in March.
Ford has given additional details about how it achieved an approximately 700-pound weight reduction on its 2015 F-150 truck beyond its use of military-grade aluminum in the body panels.
When used in the manufacture of truck bodies and van equipment, lightweight materials, such as thinner gauge high-strength steel, aluminum, fiberglass, and plastic composites, enable fleets to reduce vehicle weight to improve fuel economy, increase legal payload, and even drop down to a smaller (often more fuel-efficient) vehicle.
Audi's Q7 flagship luxury SUV will lose 700 pounds for the 2015 model year in a redesign that should make the full-size, seven-passenger SUV the lightest in its segment, according to Audi.