Car designers know that plastics play an ever-growing role in auto performance, safety and design. Today’s plastics make up 50 percent of the volume of cars but only ten percent of the weight, which helps make cars lighter and more fuel efficient, as well as resulting in fewer CO2 emissions. Plastics Make it Possible® puts you in the driver’s seat to play automotive designer and create your own dream car!

No matter what vehicle body you choose, plastics play a key role in vehicle safety. For example, filling hollow structures with rigid foam plastic can help improve a car’s strength – very valuable in case of a side impact or rollover. Many other auto safety features are made with various plastics, such as industrial strength polyester seatbelts and nylon airbags (for the life-saving 1/20th of a second).

Scratch-resistant exterior panels – with the color incorporated in the plastic – resist nasty dings, dents and scratches and can even help eliminate costly paint jobs. They come in virtually any color of the rainbow, so you can show your true colors!

Engine components made of plastic composites help reduce vehicle weight and cost, which helps the environment and the wallet.

No more broken glass – most headlight lenses today are made of shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastic.

Durable and rugged ABS plastic hubcaps can look like chrome, steel or brushed aluminum. Plastics have largely replaced heavier steel hubcaps, a weight savings that helps increase fuel economy.

Plastic fuel tanks don’t rust, they can be molded for any space and they reduce vehicle weight (less weight = fewer fill-ups).

Plastic bumpers help absorb impact in a crash, reduce weight and have endless design possibilities.

From carpets and upholstery to the dash board and ceiling panels, plastics can accommodate any design – they’re the principal part of a car interior’s look and feel. Some manufacturers are even making interior components with bioplastics and recycled plastics!

What puts the safety in safety glass? It’s plastic. Car windshields are made of laminated safety glass – a thin plastic film between two sheets of glass – that helps drivers and passengers stay inside the car (the safest place) during a crash.

Instead of taking the car to the shop to have specialty designs painted, vinyl car decals can add inexpensive and instant flair to set your ride apart – and they resist scratches and stand up well to corrosive conditions of the road.

Enter in the name of your new car and your email address to save it in the Plastics in Motion gallery.