4. Match the expressions above with the following definitions:

1. A measure of the car’s wind resistance or drag coefficient.

2. The amount you spend on petrol, tax, maintenance, …

3. A volume of the boot.

4. Haw much fuel you need driving around town.

5. Brake system which uses a caliper and rotor, or disc, to stop or slow a vehicle.

6. How much you can expect to get if you sell the car after three years.

7. The connection of the axles by springs and dampers to the car body which prevents occupants from feeling road shocks.

8. The distance between putting your foot down on the brake and the car stopping.

9. How much the car weighs when there are no passengers in it and with half a tank of fuel.

5. Do you agree that there will be no more switches, only voice control? Will the car be made of self-cleaning materials? Will the sensors in the car prevent accidents? Would you like to be able to do most of the tasks you usually do in your office – in the car?

   Text 24.

ALUMINUM – THE METAL OF THE YEAR

With the launch of the A2, Audi AG introduced the first vehicle in the world to have a volume-built all-aluminum body. In 1996, series production of the A8 began. The A8 is the first luxury limousine made of aluminum and the Audi plant produces 20 000 vehicles a year. The A8 combines high strength with low weight. This is the lightest car in the luxury class. The third-generation Audi Space Frame now has fewer components than its predecessors, which makes it easier to build the car in large quantities.

Other car makers are also starting to take aluminum seriously. As engine sizes have increased, cars have become more top-heavy. Using aluminum for the bonnet and front wings helps to get a better weight distribution between front and rear axles. Another advantage of aluminum is that it is cheaper to recycle than steel. This will be an important consideration in the future when the EU introduces tougher recycling regulations.

But there are drawbacks to using aluminum. Replacing steel with aluminum is expensive; an aluminum body costs twice as much as a steel one. Not only are production processes expensive, they are also difficult to implement. Because aluminum is more brittle and tears more easily than steel, it can only be formed when it is in an unhardened state. Furthermore, aluminum used for the outer parts of the car, such as the wings and the doors, needs to be thicker than steel because it doesn’t have the same stiffness. The dent-resistance of aluminum is also less than that of steel.

On the plus side, aluminum doesn’t rust like steel, and in car crashes it has a higher energy absorption rate, which increases the car’s active safety.

1. Answer these questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using aluminum?

2. What kind of car materials do you think will be used in the future?

3. What materials are used in car manufacturing?

4. What are the EU’s recycling targets for 2015? Do you think car makers will have trouble reaching them?