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An Ultra-Light Door (ULD) has been developed that is 40% lighter than a baseline 2016 mid-size vehicle’s driver side door. The ULD scope encompasses the entire door, including the door-in-white (DIW), interior trim, glazing, hardware, wiring, etc. To achieve such a substantial mass reduction while still meeting the baseline vehicle’s performance metrics (including safety, durability, NVH, appearance, etc.) at a minimal cost increase, the door design relies on a comprehensive full system approach that includes a unique architecture in addition to lightweight materials and components. This paper details the ULD design concept, simulated performance results, the current status of vehicle level validation, and comparisons between component level CAE predicted performance and physical test results.

In response to ever more challenging global fuel economy and environmental regulations, automakers will rely on lightweighting to continue to meet the established goals. As “bolt-on” subassemblies, closure panels provide a unique opportunity to tailor the vehicle mass to achieve local environmental compliance relative to a global vehicle platform while maintaining equivalent functionality and safety performance. This paper is aimed at communicating the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) study which compares the lightweight auto parts of the new Magna’s Ultralight Door design to the conventional auto parts of the baseline 2016 MY Chrysler 200C 6 cyl, 3.6 L, automatic 9-spd, an ICE vehicle (gasoline fueled) built and driven for 250,000 km in North America (NA) [1]. Magna International Inc. (Magna), in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy (U.S.