USA TODAY: More use of weight-saving materials such as aluminum, carbon fiber and high-strength steel are boosting gas-mileage in new cars, but also are complicating and adding cost to repairing them after accidents.
Automakers are under intense pressure both to save weight for gas mileage and to meet stricter crash-test standards. But the sometimes exotic materials needed to meet those goals mean replacement parts not only cost more, but often require elaborate repair techniques that are taxing skills in some body shops.
They also raise concern about dangerous repair shortcuts or substitution of cheap steel parts instead of costly ones that came with the car… (more)
