Ford recently unveiled all-new versions of two of its best-selling models: the Mondeo in Europe and the Explorer in North America. Considering that Ford produced over 2.5 million first-generation Mondeos and over 3.6 million of the old Explorers, the material specification of every component in the new versions is crucial to those advocates of composites, aluminum, or steel. So who's winning? Ford will tell you that it's the consumer, either because of improved crash-protective strength or fuel-economizing weight savings. And while ferrous metals are certainly not out of the picture, even from a consumer's perspective, it's hard not to notice the increased use of aluminum and plastic.