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CNN Live At Daybreak
Car Makers Research Smells
Aired January 02, 2003 - 05:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wake up and smell the car seats. Auto makers don't want you turning your nose up at their products, so they've resorted to the sniff test.
Our Andrew brown takes a whiff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you test drive a new car, you expect it to be all shiny and clean and have that new car smell, the one that tells you the vehicle is fresh from the factory. It's quite likely the aroma in your automobile has been thoroughly analyzed by the manufacturer. Audi says it now "intensively sniffs its cars to make sure they smell new." It also tries to eliminate unpleasant odors.
A special team has been appointed to nose around different models so unwanted whiffs can be detected.
HEIKO LUESSMAN-GEIGER, AUDI SMELL EXPERT: For some it seems a bit crazy that we do a smell test, but we have customers and we have complaints, already have complaints about this.
BROWN: Audi simulates the high temperature cars are exposed to in Asian countries to make sure components don't get smelly when they heat up. Dashboards are loaded into heat chambers so that members of the nose team can see how they react at 80 degrees Centigrade. Anecdotal evidence suggests consumers in Asia like a neutral leather smell, particularly when it comes to luxury brands like Porsche and BMW.
MIKE RUSHWORTH, JEBSON MOTOR GROUP: Yes, it's full leather with neutral smell. Absolutely no smell at all. Yes, a definitely strong smell of leather.
BROWN: According to Rushworth, smell based marketing can easily backfire.
RUSHWORTH: We had at one stage had a car which had a chocolate smell. It was a family car and they thought the chocolate smell would intrigue the children, but, in fact, that was withdrawn after about one year.
BROWN: It's not just customers who are kicking up a stink. According to a government funded study in Australia, the surfaces inside a new car give off fumes. They're known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Some analysts say VOCs are now recognized as a potential hazard.
JEFF HESELWOOD, AUTO INDUSTRY EXPERT: They can be toxic. So a lot of manufacturers are trying to reduce the amount of VOCs within the car, which then takes away that smell which is so desirable to some people.
BROWN (on camera): Australian researchers say you can minimize the impact of toxic fumes by keeping your car well ventilated. So always drive with the window down. That way you'll get plenty of fresh air. That smells good.
Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Whatever works for you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 2, 2003 - 05:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wake up and smell the car seats. Auto makers don't want you turning your nose up at their products, so they've resorted to the sniff test.
Our Andrew brown takes a whiff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you test drive a new car, you expect it to be all shiny and clean and have that new car smell, the one that tells you the vehicle is fresh from the factory. It's quite likely the aroma in your automobile has been thoroughly analyzed by the manufacturer. Audi says it now "intensively sniffs its cars to make sure they smell new." It also tries to eliminate unpleasant odors.
A special team has been appointed to nose around different models so unwanted whiffs can be detected.
HEIKO LUESSMAN-GEIGER, AUDI SMELL EXPERT: For some it seems a bit crazy that we do a smell test, but we have customers and we have complaints, already have complaints about this.
BROWN: Audi simulates the high temperature cars are exposed to in Asian countries to make sure components don't get smelly when they heat up. Dashboards are loaded into heat chambers so that members of the nose team can see how they react at 80 degrees Centigrade. Anecdotal evidence suggests consumers in Asia like a neutral leather smell, particularly when it comes to luxury brands like Porsche and BMW.
MIKE RUSHWORTH, JEBSON MOTOR GROUP: Yes, it's full leather with neutral smell. Absolutely no smell at all. Yes, a definitely strong smell of leather.
BROWN: According to Rushworth, smell based marketing can easily backfire.
RUSHWORTH: We had at one stage had a car which had a chocolate smell. It was a family car and they thought the chocolate smell would intrigue the children, but, in fact, that was withdrawn after about one year.
BROWN: It's not just customers who are kicking up a stink. According to a government funded study in Australia, the surfaces inside a new car give off fumes. They're known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Some analysts say VOCs are now recognized as a potential hazard.
JEFF HESELWOOD, AUTO INDUSTRY EXPERT: They can be toxic. So a lot of manufacturers are trying to reduce the amount of VOCs within the car, which then takes away that smell which is so desirable to some people.
BROWN (on camera): Australian researchers say you can minimize the impact of toxic fumes by keeping your car well ventilated. So always drive with the window down. That way you'll get plenty of fresh air. That smells good.
Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Whatever works for you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
