Volvo tests other kinds of emissions - New Car Smell - in their cars
You are all familiar with that new car smell, right? Whenever someone gets into a brand new car off the showroom floor, they are bombarded with odors ranging from new plastics to chemicals burning off newly hot parts underhood. While most everyone wants to know that their car is factory-fresh, those smells can truly be harmful... sorta akin to sniffing glue you might say. While some people are more bothered by the odorific... uh, odors than others, the noses of a few testers at Volvo have got your nasal passages on their minds. To wit:
The interior of a modern vehicle contains many different materials that contain chemical substances. While most of these substances remain locked in the material, small quantities can evaporate, creating that "new car smell". The panel monitors these substances and the smells they may cause in the cabin.
In Volvo's tests, each car is rated on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being unbearable. Higher than 3 = failed. Additionally, each car is heated up to simulate the baking the interior gets in the hot sun.
[Source: Good Car Bad Car]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jwilli35 8:05AM (1/09/2008)
Nothing new about this method of odor assessment, it has been used for many years by most OEM's
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