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Advantages of galvanized steel in automotive production compared to other metals.
Galvanized Steel is low-cost and strong. You can make it springy or stiff as well as relatively soft and malleable, so it is a very, very versatile material. It is very easy to shape into almost any shape and can be drilled, milled, turned, bent, forged, and pressed. The only drawbacks are that it rusts and that it is heavier than some other materials - but this can be overcome with zinc-coating and/or painting, which are processes that are well-established and relatively low cost.
Galvanized steel is low maintenance, and also gives a good look to the vehicle. It has a long life expectancy of around 50 years. There is also galvannealed steel which is more suitable for the welding and painting processes.
Copper is very expensive, heavier than steel, and not as strong. Its only saving grace in terms of usefulness in cars and other general things is that it is easy to bend and that it doesn't rust/corrode very easily. But it's not a suitable material for making cars out of - aside from electrical wiring and maybe parts of the coolant system.
Brass is also much more expensive than steel, and really no benefit. It is easy to machine, so for some parts where machining is a key aspect, and material cost and strength aren't very important, it may be used. But with sintered metal, this is becoming rarer, as sintering allows odd shapes to be made cheaply from steel.
Stainless steel is used, but it is harder to machine and work on, compared to mild steel, not really any stronger, but tends to work harden and crack if there's vibration or bending going on, and there are only limited variants that are as good as the regular non-stainless steel. But it is used for certain parts, such as exhaust systems, where corrosion resistance wins over "ease of making things".
Aluminum, titanium, and plastics, including carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, are materials that are used.
Aluminum is for large components where weight is a bigger factor than strength - and it can be machined and extruded into almost any shape quite easily, and still be fairly strong.
Titanium is still very, very expensive, but for those parts that need to be both light and strong, it has about the same strength as steel, but 60–70% of the weight, and is naturally non-corroding (this is one reason it is expensive to make, it reacts very quickly with oxygen AND with nitrogen, to form a layer on the surface. If you melt it in the air, it will just form titanium oxide and nitride - it needs to be shielded with something like argon gas to be able to be melted.
