Great Designs in Steel 2016 Presentations: A Closer Look - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu and 2017 Buick LaCrosse

In case you missed it Terry A. Swartzell from General Motors Company presented Lightweighting And Steel Technologies In The All-New 2016 Chevrolet Malibu And The 2017 Buick LaCrosse at Great Designs in Steel 2016.

“One underbody fits all” is no more. While the 2016 Malibu and the 2017 LaCrosse share a common "platform", each has certain areas of the structure that are unique to each vehicle. So a repair that may be possible on one vehicle may not apply to the other even though they share a common "platform".

MIG brazing has also surfaced in these models. The MIG brazing allows for single sided joining and allows for smaller, stiffer sub-assemblies. Per the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu body repair manual, "Note: MIG Brazing Welds equivalent to the factory brazing welds are recommended."

The right steel grades in the right areas! GM has increased the usage of HSLA, dual phase and multi-phase, bake hardenable, and PHS and martensite. In addition to the continued use of scalloping most of the mating flanges.

You can also check out the presentations from previous years by going to Great Designs in Steel and clicking on the list to the left on the screen.

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