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Add the New Car Scent to the List of Things Trying to Kill You

Ever since we started making our own fires, forging tools and building some roofs over our heads, the wild beasts ceased to be the most immediate threats to our lives.
Volkswagen Passat interior 1 photo
Photo: Florin Profir
Things have kept on evolving, and today we're faced with the most devious of enemies, one that can't be seen, so it can't be fought either. There are carcinogenic agents all around us, starting with our food, our cleaning products, our cosmetics, and even the materials used for building our houses. Did you eat something today? Yeah, you're probably one step closer to cancer.

As if ballistic missiles that can cross continents, kids with access to assault rifles and people willing to blow themselves up in public for the most absurd reasons weren't enough to keep us on our toes, here's something new: the scent in your newly acquired car.

Have you ever wondered what it is exactly that makes a new car smell the way it does? Eyes closed, I could identify a modern Volkswagen Group car based on smell alone with 90 percent accuracy, but what exactly is that scent that travels inside my nose and tickles my brain in a specific way?

Well, simply put, chemicals. And a lot of them. They're not there for their incredibly seductive fragrance, but because they serve a very practical role: some of them are adhesives, others are impregnated into the plastic on the dashboard, while others are just residues from the manufacturing process. But most of them have one thing in common: they're bad for your health.

The funny thing is that there's no independent body, no EPA regulating the use of these chemicals, so the car makers are free to throw in whatever they feel is best for them. And reading a list of the substances used in making your car will make you glad you weren't paying attention during the chemistry class, because if you were, you'd be a lot more worried now.

The dangers are greater the newer the vehicle is. During the first few months of a car's life, the chemical compounds are more unstable, and thus more likely to release vapors into the air. It is believed that the most critical stage is over after the first six months, but that may depend on a number of factors.

Reporting on the subject, BBC says that experts recommend avoiding leaving the car in the sun (the heat accelerates the reaction), or at least let the air get out before climbing in; cracking the windows open whenever possible is also a good idea, while keeping the interior clean helps as well (the dust can hold on to chemicals). Or just buy a six-month-old car and be over with.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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