GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7279844/did/9503413/Is your new car going to kill you?

Quote, originally posted by redlava »Is your new car going to kill you?Quite possible, that crap certainly isn't the healthiest thing for you... I can have issues with headaches and nausea triggered by exposure to certain scents/chemicals/etc, so I'm probably one of those people they were talking about in that article. I used to "enjoy" the new car smell, but as I've grown older, the sensitivity to that crap has increased. So I'm wondering if I will have to figure out how to eliminate it quickly next time around? Quote »While some customers complain about the new-car smell, others cherish it enough to have spawned a cottage industry in aerosol "new-car sprays" to keep their rides smelling fresh from the factory.I don't know who the hell comes up with the forumlas for those "new car scent" air fresheners, but i have YET to get a whiff of one of those that even comes remotely close to this infamous scent. New cars don't smell like those things. How about you guys? lol

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I don't know who the hell comes up with the forumlas for those "new car scent" air fresheners, but i have YET to get a whiff of one of those that even comes remotely close to this infamous scent. New cars don't smell like those things. How about you guys? lolThe very last time I asked for a scent, it was for my wife's car. Thinking I did her a favor, I had it fully detailed plus the "new car scent." Her first reaction was, "Where's the @#$@# cat that peed in my car?!!!"

lol! I just don't get it. *shrug* If it's not cat pee, it ends up smelling like a pile of molten plastic with a bottle of armor all dumped on top. heh

I'd rather die from this then that crazy chaos cloud!!!

Hmmm..... maybe this means I need to remove my lovely blue "New Car Scent" tree air freshener hanging from my rear view mirror! I do agree, they don't really smell like the real "new car smell" that comes from new vehicles.The new-car smell emanates largely from chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that leach from glues, paints, vinyls and plastics in the passenger compartment. The fumes can trigger headaches, sore throats, nausea and drowsiness. Prolonged exposure to some of the chemicals can lead to cancer, though there's no evidence linking that to concentrations in cars.You would think that if they knew the new car smell was causing all these medical problems, they would try to eliminate it!

The last one of those air fresheners I bought smelled like soap...LOL. It was way too sweet-smelling, and it even gave *me* a headache...

I smell a lawsuit! If I die from my new car smell, I'm suing GM!

In my old Chev I used the new car "tree" smell but I wouldn't expose the entire tree to the air and kept the plastic wrapper on it and only poked up half the tree. (run on sentance huh) It lasted longer that way and you we're overwhelmed by the smell. I didn't hang it on the rear view mirror.

those VOC's are evil... Not the smell though....Its that blasted film/fog they leave on my windshield and other windows.

I remember reading somewhere that the VOC's emitted from just-manufactured cars are high enough to throw them WAY out of compliance with EPA air-pollution standards. Hence the cars tested for fuel mileage in EPA labs have to be 30 days old, or older, to get 'true' engine emissions readings, not influenced by VOC's from paint, tires, carpeting, upholstery, and so on!