Lighter cars are more nimble and fuel efficient. It's simple physics. Ford

designers and engineers took advantage of this fact when designing the 2000

Lincoln LS. By substituting aluminum for steel in many components, they were

able to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. Drivers of the LS will enjoy

improved fuel economy, performance, handling and braking as a result of the

weight savings. The LS uses more aluminum than any other Ford car or light

truck on the road today.

The 2000 Lincoln LS has a curb weight of 3,593 pounds

including 262 pounds of aluminum components. Aluminum is

used in the engine, chassis, suspension, closure panels,

and wheels.

"One of our main goals here was to create a vehicle with

superb dynamics and handling capabilities," said Bill

Faulk, manager of chassis engineering for the LS. "Using

aluminum in the chassis and suspension helped keep weight

down and played a big part in achieving that goal."

The 2000 Lincoln LS has a wider wheel base and longer

length than most other vehicles in its class. Yet,

because of the use of aluminum components, its weight

remains competitive.

Decreased tailpipe emissions is also a benefit of the

lightweight design. LS equipped with a V8 engine will be

a low emissions vehicle (LEV) in all 50 states. LS

powered by the V6 engine will be LEV in California as

well as 13 northeastern states.

Engineers for the LS found several challenges in working

with aluminum. The physical properties of aluminum do not

allow for as much flexibility as steel, so engineers had

to be creative when tackling joining issues. They also

used alternative methods for shaping aluminum parts

rather than using traditional forging methods. Packaging

the sometimes larger aluminum components posed a

difficulty as well, as engineers attempted to balance

strength with weight savings and cost. Persistence and

creativity among Ford engineers won out and the LS has

emerged as the lighter-weight, performance vehicle they

had hoped for.

"Aluminum has one-third the density of steel," explained

Ken Forsythe, weight engineer, Research and Vehicle

Technology. "This means a component of aluminum can be

almost one and a half times thicker than steel while

remaining 50 percent lighter, when both components are

designed to handle an equal load." According to the

Aluminum Association, Inc., an aluminum part of the same

weight as a steel part can absorb twice as much energy.

Aluminum is also highly recyclable. It can be recycled

over and over with no decline in performance or quality.

In fact, 60 to 70 percent of all aluminum used in

automobiles already has been recycled at least once. More

than 85 percent of post-consumer automotive aluminum

scrap is recycled and almost all post-manufacturing

automotive aluminum scrap is recycled.

Ford has increased its use of lightweight materials in

vehicles as a method for keeping overall vehicle weight

down. Today, Ford uses more aluminum on its vehicles than

any other lightweight material. Ford usage of aluminum

has risen from an average of 204 pounds per vehicle in

1991 to an average of 235 pounds per vehicle in 1999.