In the summer of 1941, Henry Ford unveiled a plastic-bodied car that connected
industry to agriculture. According to Lowell E. Overly, the former tool-and-die
designer tasked with building Ford's "Soybean Car", the vehicle's panels were made
of "soybean fiber in a phenolic resin with formaldehyde used in the impregnation".
World War II interrupted Ford's plastic experiment, however, and consumer auto
production came to a halt.
Sixty years later, the Ford Motor Company is again experimenting with soy - this
time with commercial success. In 2008, Ford became the first automaker to demonstrate
that soy-based foams could meet the stringent requirements of automotive
applicaions. After adding soy foam seats to the 2008 Mustang, the company added
it to the headliners for the 2010 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. Today, Ford
has more models with bio-foam seats than any other automaker.
Some environmentalists applaud Ford's attempts to use so-called "green
materials," noting that soy foam has helped the automaker to reduce its carbon
dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds. The company's stockholders benefit,
too, as soy foam is helping Ford reduce its consumption of more-expensive
petroleum for less-expensive soybean oil. Still, some critics wonder how much
soy is really in those "soy-based" foams that also include recycled materials. Should
anything less than "100% soy" be enough to put Ford in the driver's seat with environmentally-conscious
consumers?
Sources: Ford
Motor Company and The Henry Ford
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