New car smell

Some people find the smell pleasant, which has led some automobile manufacturers to mimic the desired scents and utilize them to attract customers in show rooms.

[1] Both the scent and its origins vary among different kinds of cars, depending on the materials found in the interior—for example, leather versus cloth seats.

Typically, however, most of the interior of an automobile consists of plastic held together with a number of adhesives and sealers, and such materials are known to release volatile organic compounds via off-gassing.

CSIRO research scientist, Dr. Stephen Brown, reported anecdotal accounts of disorientation, headache, and irritation in some drivers of new cars.

He measured pollutant levels in new cars that were sufficient to cause similar effects within minutes in controlled experiments by other researchers.

A more recent study in Japan found that the volatile organic chemicals in a new minivan were over 35 times the health limit the day after its delivery.