The GM Precept uses a lightweight, yet stiff spaceframe body structure made of aluminum stampings, extrusions, and castings. Aluminum panels (doors, decklid, hood, front fenders, and quarter panels) account for 74 kg (163 lb) of the Precept's mass. DaimlerChrysler's ESX3 has an aluminum powertrain, seat frames, and chassis and its primary propulsion system is an all-aluminum 1.5-L diesel engine. An aluminum underride guard is installed at the rear of the Volkswagen AAC to provide off-road protection. Aluminum is featured prominently in the interior of the Volkswagen AAC. The Lexus Sport Coupe concept unveiled at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show features a retractable aluminum hardtop. The Sport Coupe's retractable hardtop unfolds in multiple steps simultaneously for quick, smooth operation. The 2000 Audi A8 features reshaped bumpers with additional aluminum strips and larger redesigned headlights, as well as new aluminum running gear. Improvements in ride comfort in the A8 were achieved by local reinforcement of the aluminum body; additional insulating measures, especially at the rear; and retuning of the engine, gearbox, and shock absorber mounts. The Plymouth Prowler's all-aluminum spaceframe. The aluminum-intensive Prowler has a mass advantage of 21%-roughly 272 kg (600 lb)-over a comparable vehicle with steel components.

Because of these issues, a single aluminum part might require more stamping stages than a comparable steel part, or the part may have to be divided into two or more pieces that are then joined together, adding time and cost to the manufacturing process. A less desirable alternative is to make compromises on either the choice of material or the shape of the part. Thus engineers have been trying to develop other methods to replace or complement the conventional mechanical stamping process to fully realize the potential mass savings of using aluminum components.

Researchers at USCAR and Ohio State University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering have experimented with a technique known as electromagnetic forming (EMF) to reduce or even eliminate the wrinkling and springback associated with conventional forming processes, as well as increase the formability of aluminum sheet. The process works by passing a short-duration, high-current electric pulse through a coil, which is placed close to the part to be formed. This produces a brief but powerful magnetic field that generates an opposing magnetic field within the part to be formed. The coil and the part thus repel each other and the part is propelled into a forming die at high velocity, forming the part into its final shape.

Initial results indicate that EMF greatly improves aluminum forming based on trials with two aluminum parts. Using EMF, researchers could form the desired surface contour in a hood without wrinkling. A second trial demonstrated that EMF extends the forming limits of aluminum sheet by shaping a difficult-to-form door inner panel without wrinkling or splitting. While the researchers are encouraged by the preliminary results, much work remains to be done. One area of concern involves the coils used to create the magnetic field. If EMF is to be employed on a large scale in the automotive industry, extremely robust coils will need to be developed.

A metals-forming process called semi-solid forming, developed nearly 30 years ago by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has only recently enabled automobile component manufacturers to produce highly durable, lightweight precision parts. Although the process was discovered in 1971, it was not until 1996 that it was used, mainly because of new automotive industry requirements for parts of long life, reliability, and light weight that cannot be met by the traditional forming process of die casting. To date, the MIT process has been used primarily to make long-lasting aluminum components for high-stress or leak-tight systems such as suspensions and air conditioners in cars. According to Merton C. Flemings, Toyota Professor in MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the process is formally called "rheocasting" or flow casting.

Rheocasting was discovered during the doctoral thesis work of David Spencer, one of Flemings' graduate students. Spencer was researching the effects of fluid flow during the solidification of metals. He found that agitation of a molten metal during solidification made it smooth and creamy similar to ice cream when it was partly solid. It became clear that this flowable semi-solid material could be the basis of a new metal-forming process that could avoid the high cost of forging and machining but produce stronger and more reliable parts than those made by conventional casting processes. Metal working is a historic art that goes back at least 10,000 years. Almost all shaping of metals has been done when the metal was fully liquid as in a casting process, or fully solid as in a forging process. According to Flemings, "Semi-solid forming has provided a major change in the way we think about the forming of metals."

In commercial practice today, the first step is to produce aluminum continuous casting "feedstock" with the correct flowable structure. These castings are then cut into small lengths and shipped to the parts producer, where they are heated until they are partly liquid. Next, the soft metal "glob" is moved from the heater to a press, where it is shaped into the final part. Rheocasting makes near net-shaped parts, or parts that need little if any additional shaping after they are formed, thus saving time and expense.

MIT licensed the rheo-casting technology to Alumax Engineered Metal Processes, which became part of Alcoa in July 1998. The company uses the technology on the Plymouth Prowler to produce suspension and wheel components such as control arms, rocker arms, and front and rear knuckles. Approximately 445 kg (900 lb) of the 1298-kg (2862-lb) Prowler consists of aluminum, including the body, frame, and suspension parts, using virtually every known alloy and form of aluminum.