I had read years ago that most "new" things (houses, cars) had this issue much more than older specimens.
A given piece of upholstery, plastic, etc. has only so much benzene to give in its lifetime, know what I mean? It trails off.
Another blessing of being poor and driving older vehicles, living in homes more than 10 years old, etc. That new smell is NOT something you want.
It's probably not just benzene but a whole cocktail of chemicals. Just think of all the chemicals used in the production of the various things inside a new house or car. When you smell something other than fresh air inside that new car, new house, new furniture, etc. know that those smells aren't natural!
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Interesting.
You know there are cans of automobile air freshener spray you can buy at auto parts stores -- they come in different smells, like ocean breeze, pine tree, fresh linen, vanilla, floral perfume, manly man, rugby, or................ NEW CAR.
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But the new car air freshener never quite smells like a new car.
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I asked a friend who works at a car dealership about this, and he told me it's an interesting question, but from what he has learned, he said that they do have access to a spray that really does smell like new car, and he said that car dealerships can get such a thing for their own use, but they have to be very careful, because the stuff is not legal to sell to the general public. He said it contains chemicals that are unsafe for general public use, prohibited by state regulations. This is CA.
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So I asked him if it's unhealthy, why would a dealer spray it in the car? He said, that new cars all have those chemicals already which is why they smell the way they do. So they're not putting anything in the used car that wouldn't be there anyway if it was a new car. But still, they can't sell the cans of spray, due to state law, but they quietly use the stuff and just don't get caught. Besides, it sells cars.