There are about 200 motorized movable parts on a typical vehicle, and with the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, General Motors is hoping to significantly reduce the vehicle's mass compared to its predecessors.

From the 1953 fiberglass model all the way to the aluminum chassis for the 2014 Stingray, GM has a six-decade reputation for introducing lightweight materials that improves vehicle performance overall.

The company announced this week that the redesigned seventh-generation Stingray will be the first GM vehicle to include a lightweight shape memory alloy wire instead of a heavier motorized actuator to open and close the hatch vent that releases air from the trunk according to a company press release.

This essentially allows those who purchase the new Stingray to open and close the trunk lid easier than previous models.

"Smart materials like shape memory alloys offer new possibilities for many movable vehicle features," said Jon Lauckner, GM's chief technology officer in a company press release. "These new materials enable innovative designs and new and improved features at a lower cost than traditional motors and actuators."

Shape memory alloys are smart materials that can change in shape, stiffness, and strength when activated by heat, stress, an electrical voltage or magnetic field according to GM. Shape memory alloys, typically made of copper-aluminum-nickel, work by remembering their original shape and returning to it once de-activated.

Click here to see pictures of the new Corvette.

Shape memory alloy also removes unwanted mass, which will reportedly improve vehicle performance and fuel economy according to a company press release. The wire actuator used in the new Stingray is approximately 1.1 pounds lighter than a standard motorized system.

For the new Stingray, a shape memory alloy wire opens up the hatch vent whenever the deck lid is opened by using heat from an electrical current, similar to the way trunk lights work. Once activated the wire then contracts and will move a lever arm to open the vent, which allows the trunk lid to close.

Once the trunk is closed, the electrical current will then switch off, letting the wire to cool and return to its normal state, which closes the vent to "maintain cabin temperature" according to GM.

"The shape memory alloy used on the new Corvette represents nearly five years of research and development work on smart materials for which GM has earned 247 patents," said Paul Alexander, GM smart materials and structures researcher in a company press release. "And it is just the beginning. We have many more smart material applications in the pipeline that will bring even more improvements to our vehicles going forward."

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