Despite much fuss from automakers about future cars made from carbon fiber components and structures, aluminum has been a material that has been in use for many decades in car manufacturing. Like composite parts in use nowadays, aluminum was first used in bumper rebar, hoods, small engine components, and the intake manifolds. In time past fuel efficiency was not of key importance, the heat transfer properties of aluminum, the weight savings of close to 50 percent, plus its ease of access made it a suitable material for automakers.

A few decades later, the use of aluminum in automobiles became much more popular. Recycled aluminum is used for different components of automobiles and aluminum alloys are used in vehicle structures and sub frames.

Cars that are made from aluminum content are a concern to collision repair shops. The reason is because when welded, stretched, or heated, aluminum behaves in a different way. And since high strength and load-bearing aluminum parts are also treated with heat, collision repair shops have to ensure that they have the capability to repair such vehicles. Due to the special handling needed when repairing aluminum vehicles, certain manufacturers can become very proprietary, and sometimes protective of their customers and the manner in which their products are repaired. Certain manufacturers have a knack for selling structural parts to only those auto body shops which have been approved as repair shops for their vehicles. This has led to the closure of many auto body repair shops, while only a few auto body repair shops qualify.