There's something about the smell of a new car that just drives people crazy. Maybe you've seen friends step into the car you just bought and act as though they were opening a piping hot pizza box. They close their eyes and inhale deeply, an action which is followed by a pleased smile and, "I love that new car smell!"
People love the new car smell so much that we've figured out how to put that smell into air fresheners and sprays so our old car can smell new too! The new car smell ranks up there in popularity with fresh baked cinnamon rolls and Christmas trees. But what makes new cars smell so great? What is the new car smell?
At one point in your life, you might have been convinced that the new car smell was made of rainbows, or maybe just concentrated happiness. You probably weren't thinking that it smelled like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which is exactly what makes that new car smell. All of that plastic and adhesive holding your car's interior together is what makes up that new car smell.
After manufacturing, the plastic and adhesive in a vehicle remains a little unstable, and releases VOCs into the air. VOCs are pretty common air pollutants that can be given off from a variety of things ranging from the interior of your car to the toilet paper in your home. Car manufacturers are actually making efforts to lower the amounts and types of VOCs that are released, which may end up changing that new car smell that we’ve all come to know and love.
So, why does plastic and glue smell so good to us? Well, it could be that the smell isn't really good or bad. It's just a smell. However, our olfactory memory associates the smell of a new car with the fun and excitement of owning a new car, which is why we love the smell so much!
