The study reported here was undertaken to focus on a particular aspect of resource recovery from automobiles; namely, the long-range technical, environmental, and economic consequences of changes in the materials input into the manufacture of automobiles. That radical changes in automobile materials consumption are taking place, and will continue, is readily apparent; cars are becoming smaller and lighter and major efforts are being made to improve their fuel economy; lighter weight materials, particularly aluminum and plastics, are being emphasized as replacement for traditional materials. The study has been subdivided into four parts as follows: (1) A quantification of the trends in automobile material composition in the period from now to the 1980-1990 decade; (2) An examination of technological and economic problems associated with materials characteristics, availability, and price which could constrain an evident trend toward the use of lighter metals and plastics in automobiles; (3) A study of the automobile recycling industry to determine if the perceived changes in automobile materials composition might either alter economic incentives, or present technical problems in recycling automobiles; (4) A study of long-range economic and environmental effects using a macromodel of the U.S. economy, the SEAS (Strategic Environmental Assessment System) model, developed under the auspices of EPA.

Bibliographies included.