“To achieve more sustainable production and consumption patterns, we must consider the environmental implications of the whole supply-chain of products, both goods and services, their use, and waste management, i.e. their entire life cycle from ‘cradle to grave’ ”. (Preface to the ILCD Handbook:​ General guide for Life Cycle Assessment)

Though conventional wisdom states that more fuel-efficient vehicles are lighter and smaller, yet less safe than their less fuel-efficient counterparts, another point of view will be shown. Aluminum and other materials have proven to replace steel with a good trade-off of fuel efficiency against safety. Yet steel is predominant in mass production automobiles, representing around 65% of their weight. The reasons behind this choice could be explained through both cost effectiveness and technology expertise, but they will not be thoroughly analyzed in this paper. However, it can be argued that a complete assessment of the ecological impact of using aluminum instead steel has not been done up till now, or at least has not been taken into full consideration. The use of lighter yet impact-efficient materials will certainly improve both safety and fuel economy, so a comprehensive study in this issue is proposed.

Therefore, this paper will compare the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of two different cars, one with a steel chassis group and body-in white, and another one having these parts made out of aluminum. This comparison has already been made by the University of California [1]. Nevertheless, a different approach is hereby proposed, so that both conclusions can be contrasted.

To conclude, a new LCA model will be developed, and two hypothetical vehicles will be compared on a theoretical approach, pointing out some aspects that should be developed thoroughly within the corresponding settings and using appropriate resources