The “new car smell” has been something that has had people coming back to car dealerships for decades and, apparently, someone has the dream job of testing it. His name is Peter Karl Eastland and he works for Nissan as their “Odor Evaluation Lead Engineer” and apparently this isn’t an easy job to get. He has a Master’s degree in Chemistry with Forensic Science, but supposedly has an extremely acute sense of smell. With all those qualifications, his job is deceptively simple: smell the cars before they leave the lot in the hands of new owners. However, he actually has quite a bit of power in the creation of the cars, as he has a hand in making sure the materials in the car are pleasing to the noses of new Nissan owners.
The “new car smell” originates from the chemicals used in the plastics and the fabrics in the interior as a result of something called off-gassing. These eventually fade away, which is why we call it the “new car smell” and not the “car” smell. However, some people like the smell so much there are air fresheners that replicate the scent, even if car manufacturers suggest that the chemicals aren’t exactly the healthiest thing to inhale.
Nissan isn’t the only company that employs people to sniff their cars; Audi does the same. But on the other hand, Hyundai learned a valuable lesson on how the smell can affect sales negatively with the new Palisade. Apparently, the interior’s combination of materials resulted in an odor that supposedly smelled like a mix of garlic, onions, and body odor.
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