Many of us are familiar with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers for their use in sporting goods, from hockey sticks to tennis rackets to bicycle frames . The material's qualities of high strength and low weight endeared it to the aerospace industry back in the 1960s, as well as the car racing circuit. A few high-end, mass-market vehicles have carbon-fiber body panels, such as the hood on the Chevrolet Corvette, and aftermarket kits are available. But because carbon fiber remains expensive pound-for-pound compared to steel, everyday passenger cars have not yet reaped its benefits.

That looks set to change over the next five to ten years, said Dan Houston, chair of the United States Council for Automotive Research's Automotive Composites Consortium Materials Working Group and a technical specialist at Ford Motor Company.

Houston thinks tightening fuel economy standards and improving carbon fiber manufacturing methods are improvements that will help pave the way for the material will begin replacing steel structural components this decade.

"Cost has been the Achilles' heel for carbon fiber in the auto business," Houston told TechNewsDaily. "But now everyone will be more pressured for weight-saving and fuel efficiency."

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