Chrysler sees plastic car in poorer countries

September 29, 1997
Web posted at: 6:36 p.m. EDT (2236 GMT)

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (CNN) -- Engineers at Chrysler are experimenting with a low-cost plastic vehicle that they hope will be on Third World roads in less than three years.

The prototype Composite Concept Vehicle, now undergoing road tests in Michigan, is a car stripped down to about 1,200 pounds.

Chrysler hopes the car will be a hit in poorer countries, where scooters and motorcycles currently dominate the roads.

Chrysler targets the Third World for its plastic car 1.1MB/29 sec. QuickTime movie

"We set ourselves the objective of doing an extremely low-cost vehicle," says Bernard Robertson of Chrysler.

The result is a car that costs only about $6,000, gets 50 miles per gallon and is put together almost like a toy.

"Fundamentally it's made out of four pieces, four injection-molded pieces. That forms pretty much the entire body, and it's mounted on a very lightweight steel chassis," Robertson says.

About 20 percent of the plastic used in the car comes from about 2,000 soda bottles worth of recycled plastic.

The interior is spare. Windows are lifted, not rolled up; only a single dial and six buttons adorn the center of the dashboard.

The plastic doors have a glossy look, not unlike the interior of a fiberglass boat.

It only takes a single-arm wiper to clear the small front windshield.

"It has what you need to drive around, steer, stop and keep the rain off you," Robertson says.

The planned engines meet European Stage III emission standards, which are more or less the same as U.S. standards.

The plastic car has yet to undergo crash tests, but Chrysler says it is confident it will meet U.S. impact standards. The car maker says computer simulation tests show the vehicle should be good enough for U.S. roads.

The automaker says it will build a few more prototypes and continue some experiments with the injection process.

One of the beauties of the car, its engineers say, is that it is almost 100 percent recyclable. Once its time is up, the plastic body can be reprocessed into a new car.

If further tests go well, the company hopes sales of the vehicle can begin in some Third World markets by the year 2000.

Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten contributed to this report.

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Chrysler Corporation
• Additional "Wheels" links

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.