As the energy industry tackles the problems of global warming, there is also increased pressure on the automotive industry to reduce carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions from commercial vehicles. One way to achieve the targets would be to improve the existing fuel efficiency of vehicles by making them significantly lighter. In order to achieve reductions in weight, researchers have used various composite materials to manufacture car body parts. Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics have advantages in carbody applications due to their high strength-to-weight ratio with no loss of performance. Their application has, however, been limited to only high-performance sports cars.
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