New aluminum front ends make auto repairs pricey

The LA Times looks at the added complexity advanced automobile construction brings to the repair process. For example, the new BMW 5-series and 6-series models are constructed with “many of the same techniques you might find at the Northrop Grumman F-18 assembly plant in El Segundo.” These new cars use rivets, epoxy adhesives and aluminum structures in the front end to save weight. The BMW system features an aluminum firewall and aluminum frame rails that extend forward, all riveted and glued to the rest of the car’s steel structure. The entire front structure weighs just 100 pounds, giving the car a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. Due to the limitations of aluminum, if the front end of one of these new Bimmers gets tweaked by more than a millimeter in a relatively light front collision, the entire front structure might need to be replaced.