  Ford's carbon fiber hood prototype   (Source: Ford Motor
Company)    Source: Ford  Comments     Threshold   5x stronger
??? It depends. By Beenthere on 10/9/2012 5:57:37 PM , Rating: 2
In tension the hood may be five times stronger than stell but it
twist and bend modes carbon fiber is usually not that strong -
which is why it the layers need to be angled in specific
directions to address as much as possible these short comings of
flat composite structures.  There are actually better places
than the hood to save weight such as the fenders, doors, etc.
but these are going to be incredibly expensive parts to replace.
As noted CF components may change crash impact results with
different rgidity vs. crumple zones. CF shards can laserate like
a jagged knife. I don't imagine anyone wants CF shards coming
thru the front windshield in a crash...