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FordHigh-tech materials not so new: automakers have experimented with them for decades.High-tech materials not so new: automakers have experimented with them for decades.
For those who think lightweight metals and plastics are new innovations in the auto industry, consider this: Louis Chevrolet won the Indianapolis 500 in 1921 using an engine with magnesium pistons.The world's first plastic automobile body? Ford Motor Co. developed it in 1941. It showed off a carbon-fiber car in 1977.Lots of materials have played a profound role in the way vehicles have evolved, but