The demand for lightweighting of our infrastructure and transportation equipment has seen a significant growth the last two decades; this need is expected to increase as reduction of carbon footprint and energy consumption will be major drivers in the decades ahead.  Aluminum has played a pivotal role in this lightweighting movement and will continue to do so.  There is a need for high performance Al alloys such as enhanced modulus, usage at elevated temperatures, and damage resistant alloys, etc.  In this presentation a retrospective and a prospective view of alloy design for Al will be reviewed and discussed.