Talk:New car smell

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I think we need to find some contrary views to balance this article. As it reads it makes it sound like a given that the inside of a new car is dangerous. But... If it's so bad, and these studies were done 6 and 11 years ago, why isn't the EPA interested? Why is this derogatory information coming only from Greenpeace and just two studies? And when I read the references, I find more than a little doubt:

1. For one, the list of VOCs detected was overwhelmingly dominated by cyclosiloxanes (which as a class are not known to be toxic, in fact are commonly used in cosmetics) and simple straight chain hydrocarbons like dodecane (which are definitely completely innocuous at such low concentrations). When we talk about more disturbing materials like xylenes, there was only a very faint blip detected for the first measurement made after the car was delivered, by the second test two hours later it was already gone.
2. For another, these tests were done on the interior of a closed up vehicle on a roasting hot day. That isn't how people use vehicles. If they have air conditioning, they turn it on and cool the car down, thus reducing out-gassing. If they don't have A/C or don't want to use it, then they open the windows, drastically reducing the concentrations (probably by orders of magnitude, since the fresh air is coming in hundreds of times faster than the material can outgas). At any rate, if it is getting up to 124°F (51°C) inside your car, you have much more serious problems than a faint trace of xylene.

New car smell should be celebrated to an extent. -- 144.139.193.22 07:38, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

You make some interesting points user, but note that a lack of interest on the part of the EPA does not signify that an issue is unimportant. Like any government instituion, the EPA is subject to the whims of the people in charge and their associated lobbyists. The Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association has agreed to limit the VOC emissions from their vehicles http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-09-26-new-car-smell_x.htm

If the industry is willing to limit itself, there is likely something to the arguement that it is not healthy. Remember, people use their cars in different ways. Some choose not to turn on the fan or open windows. The voluntary limits are probably taking this into account.

I would agree that the study involving the 1995 Lincoln was flawed. For instance, we do not know the build date of the car, the distance it had been driven, and whether the fan had been operated in the past.

Anecdotally, I have gotten a headache from driving around new Chrysler Vehicles (usually with less than 2500 miles on the odometer). This was on generally hot and sunny days, with the air conditioning running strong. Of course one could argue that my headache could have been from innumerable other sources such as stress, outdoor air pollution, or other health issues. Bcirker 16:55, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

"If the industry is willing to limit itself, there is likely something to the arguement that it is not healthy."

That's Japan, and frankly, I don't think Japanese credibility is very good. They're invading the American market, so that's doing nothing but giving them more sales.

And the EPA, and Greenpeace can not be trusted, period. They have stretched the truth MANY times before, and have been caught. This article is, not only not neutral, but just wrong in most spots, including references. This page needs to be either completly rewritten, or removed. "New car smell should be celebrated..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.58.191.93 (talk) 00:43, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Greenpeace isn't being cited, is it? there was a study in australia, one in japan, and the one with the lincoln continental. If you want a view saying saying new car smell is healthy, find a source.

Anyway, I tried to edit the article to make it flow better, and I removed the warning in the picture caption because I thought it was belaboring the point a little.

204.52.215.97 02:07, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Juat a note from someone working in the industry as a supplier of automotive interior components - it is acknowledged by most car companies that VOC levels meed to be reduced, and there are many projects underway to engineer both raw materials and finished components to specific VOC emission levels (the desired level and measurement systems are the area of debate, not the need to reduce VOC). I do not see the need for contrary views; no one in the industry is lobbying that VOC emissions are good for you, and the industry is taking steps to gradually reduce VOC emmissions on it's own. This is being driven not by the EPA or US lawyers, but by a combination of European environmental legislation for product end-of-life recyclibility that makes the processing and recovery of VOC-emitting adhesives and plastic compounds expensive, and the general trend towards green marketing in the auto industry.

In the book Choke by Chuck Palahniuk new car smell is said to be the smell of Formaldehyde and New car smell is compared to the "stench of death". As a work of fiction this counts more as an amusing anecdote and perhaps someone can find an appropriate way to reference it in the article I'm not sure of the most appropriate way to mention it. -- Horkana 11:39, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

This challenge is at odds with mainstream science. See, for instance, this piece in Chemical and Engineering News: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8020stuff.html. The challenge was made in June 2006 and should have been removed after it was evident that it had little support, certainly no consensus favoring change. 10 Mar. 20007 MGerety.

May I recommend this relevant recent article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070408/sc_livescience/thatnewcarsmellnottoxicstudyfinds --72.200.80.15 01:20, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

I think that this article deviates from its title rather quickly. The 'new car smell' is actually a 3M industrial adhesive. The stuff they use to hold the plastic/paper mats to the carpet. You can find it in most hardware stores, I believe. I'm not sure what all this doomspeak is about, but I'm pretty positive that the plastic softners are in no way responsible for that 'new car smell'.

New other smells?

Aw, I was expecting a small part about the notorious "new game smell"... Tajik24 (talk) 07:23, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

"Old book smell" would have also been applicable. 76.19.187.6 (talk) 00:15, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

New source found, any thoughts?

So I've been browsing around the Internet and I found a new, updated source about this "new car smell" phenomenon. I've read the website's about section, and it seems they do have standards of quality for their articles. However, I'm not sure if this source would be fit for Wikipedia. The link can be found in the citation. Thanks, --TrademarkedTarantula (talk) 18:23, 23 April 2023 (UTC)

References