Over the past 10 years, magnesium applications in the North American automotive industry have increased from 1 to similar to 4 kg per vehicle. Some vehicles have almost 17 kg of magnesium components and others have almost none. Parts vary in size from the small (pump housings in the 100 gram range), to the large (instrument panels, transfer cases, transmission cases and cowl supports weighing almost 10 kg). Automotive suppliers and producers (OEM's) are very tentative in their support for large-scale magnesium utilization. A first concern is cost. But there are also technical issues that are worrisome, such as magnesium's long-term functional durability in fatigue, impact (crash) and corrosion. Preventing corrosion and bimetallic corrosion from affecting component appearance and life is especially crucial for customer acceptance of magnesium components. This paper will describe the author's perception of the problems with magnesium technology, as well as his experience with promoting magnesium use in the automotive industry.