The Multi Material Lightweight Vehicle (MMLV) developed by Magna International and Ford Motor Company is a result of a US Department of Energy (DOE) project DE-EE0005574. The project demonstrates the lightweighting potential of a five passenger sedan, while achieving frontal crash test performance comparable to the baseline vehicle. Prototype vehicles were manufactured and limited full vehicle testing was conducted. The Mach-I vehicle design, comprised of commercially available materials and production processes, achieved a 364 kg (23.5%) full vehicle mass reduction, enabling the application of a 1.0 liter three-cylinder engine, leading to the potential for reduced environmental impact and improved fuel economy.
This paper presents the structural crash performance results of the MMLV prototype vehicle in two frontal crash modes - The New Car Assessment Program's (NCAP) full-frontal rigid barrier impact and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) moderate overlap frontal impact. The results were favorable in both tests and the performances of the various light-weight structures implemented in the current MMLV prototype vehicle are reported.
