A Smell That's Right on the Nose.

Newsweek International, May, 1999

New-car smell, that brew of plastic, glue and rubber treasured by car buyers, is a delicate and valuable aroma. Hoping to standardize its new models' bouquet, Ford is replacing its staff of human sniffers with a $75,000 machine that uses polyester "sponges" to detect scents. Dubbed the e Nose 4000, the device is being tested on the Focus, a European model that debuts here this fall.

Volkswagen has also begun to control its factory-fresh odors, but so far it's sticking with standard nostrils.