Plasan Greens Chevrolet’s 2014 Corvette Body

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette 2014will be lighter and stronger, thanks to the Israeli company Plasan

High performance sports cars, including the  gold Mercedes sports coupes burning blends of biofuel are not exactly on most people’s minds as being environmentally friendly. But these are the kind of cars loved by the wealthy and extravagant men of the Middle East who like to show off their assets. Even electric sports cars, such as those made by Tesla Motors  and which have had a slow start in regions like the Middle East still have to rely on fossil fuel fired power stations to supply the electricity needed to recharge their lithium battery packs. A new Israeli-made body composite material will be making hot rods all the more rideable (in the green sense).

America’s love for fast, sporty cars, has been romanticized for nearly 60 years by the two seater Chevrolet Corvette model, which first appeared in the late summer of 1953. Since then, America’s most loved domestic sports car has undergone more than six generations of design changes; and it’s original molded fiberglass body has been enhanced with more up-to-date types of synthetic composite materials and plastic moldings.

The car’s engine has also undergone a vast number of changes; and new 6 and 7 liter engine versions, which are designed to run on mixtures of gasoline and ethanol, no way resemble its original 235 cu. inch straight 6 cylinder engine which burned only top premium leaded fuel.

Chevrolet’s newest version of this car, the 2014 model, will be lighter than recent predecessors, and will incorporate lighter synthetic fiber and plastic molding materials into its body and a new “hydroformed” aluminum frame.

Some of the plastic material to be used in the car is being designed by an Israeli plastic company Plasan, located in Kibbutz Sasa in Israel’s northern Galilee region. In addition to making special armor for military vehicles, including those used by the US military Plasan has now been called on by GM  to design body parts for the 2014 Corvette model to reduce the car’s body mass and make it stronger.

The Corvette Stingray name, discontinued in 1976, will return for versions of this car as well.

Plasan’s technology will be found on the C7’s front fenders, doors, rear quarter panels, and the rear hatch panel that were all made with the lighter-density sheet molding compound than the car’s previous generation,” according to ISRAEL21c.

A lighter Chevy Corvette is still not a good answer to turning this car into something green; but a slightly lighter weight may result in better fuel savings, which is something this type of car surely needs.

Read more on sports and fast cars, including electric ones:

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Fisker Karma Owner Aims to Debunk Fire Hazard Stories

Abu Dhabi’s Sold Gold “Biofuel” Mercedes Another Dubious “Green” Development

The Middle East Can Only Drool Over Tesla Electric Sport Roadsters

Author: Maurice Picow

Maurice Picow grew up in Oklahoma City, U.S.A., where he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, Maurice embarked on a career as a real estate broker before making the decision to move to Israel. After arriving in Israel, he came involved in the insurance agency business and later in the moving and international relocation fields. Maurice became interested in writing news and commentary articles in the late 1990’s, and now writes feature articles for the The Jerusalem Post as well as being a regular contributor to Green Prophet. He has also written a non-fiction study on Islam, a two volume adventure novel, and is completing a romance novel about a forbidden love affair. Writing topics of particular interest for Green Prophet are those dealing with global warming and climate change, as well as clean technology - particularly electric cars.

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