New Car Smell Can Make You Sick

That New-Car Smell that has driven so many Americans to buy new rather than used cars turns out to be not worth the money consumers pay for it.  In fact, if a study by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization is correct, it could be worth paying extra money to avoid the smell. The Australian scientists attribute the new-car smell largely to chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that leach from glues, paints, vinyls and plastics in the passenger compartment. As this piece in SFGate reports, the fumes can trigger
headaches, sore throats, nausea and drowsiness, and prolonged exposure to
some of the chemicals can lead to cancer. SFGate reports that Japanese auto makers are all over the problem, and have set an industrywide goal of reducing concentrations of VOCs. The Americans? The Washington-based Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents nine carmakers including General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG, says it doesn’t follow
the issue of VOCs. Read more.