Periodic table

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Alphabetical index of the Corrosion Doctors Web site

Car Rust

A rust spot with salt and paint blisters, what a nice sight!

The smiling lisps of salt on rust

(Courtesy of Kingston Technical Software)

U.S. consumers, businesses, and government organizations own more than 200 million registered motor vehicles. Assuming the average value of an automobile is $5,000, the total investment Americans have made in motor vehicles can be estimated at $1 trillion. Since the 1980s, car manufacturers have increased the corrosion-resistance of vehicles by using corrosion-resistant materials, employing better manufacturing processes, and designing corrosion-resistant vehicles. Although significant progress has been made, further improvement can be achieved in corrosion resistance of individual components. The total annual direct cost of corrosion is estimated at $23.4 billion, which is broken down into the following three components: (1) increased manufacturing costs due to corrosion engineering and the use of corrosion-resistant materials ($2.56 billion per year), (2) repairs and maintenance necessitated by corrosion ($6.45 billion per year), and (3) corrosion-related depreciation of vehicles ($14.46 billion per year). (reference)