You think the smell in your new car is there by accident?
Not at all. It’s there by design.
In fact, Volkswagen ‘nose’ exactly what they’re doing when it comes to making their cars have that “new car” aroma.
For those of us old enough to remember when the first batch of Chinese cars arrived in South Africa, they had a particular pungent smell that bordered on offensive.
It turns out it was the glue they used on the carpets.
I can tell you that there was not a team of people with calibrated noses because it would never have been allowed.
A calibrated nose, you ask.
Yes seriously.
At their assembly plant in Kariega in the Eastern Cape there are people who are employed to only use their olfactory cells.
It would be interesting to see the job application or what the KPIs would entail.
I also wonder what the premiums would be if you had to have your nose insured like some celebrities insure certain body parts and features.
The VW plant produces the Polo for export, Polo GTI exclusively for world export, the Polo Vivo and shortly a new entry level SUV for local and African consumption.
As part of a stringent set of quality control measures, the smell test forms an integral part.
If you’re a smoker or suffer from sinus issues, then the job isn’t for you.
Six people are subjected to five back to back tests and once they have all smelt the samples and evaluated them the ratings are taken and four individuals are chosen whose ratings are 0.5% within each other.
Your nose is then qualified and calibrated.
Also when testing, no perfume is allowed, aftershave, eating or leather articles of clothing.
A sample of cars are taken off the production line and the engineers then take a piece of the interior, say from the steering wheel, dashboard, door card, or cubby hole lid. It’s then placed into an airtight glass container and heated to an extreme temperature for two hours.
The lid is lifted slightly and then the four testers, well… smell it.
There are six ratings ranging from not perceptible, clearly perceptible but not offensive and unbearable.
If there is a sample that is unacceptable, the parts quality engineer is informed, who in turn informs the supplier. The remedy could range from putting the part on hold for further testing or getting new consignments.
The whole car is also tested for interior smells.
Taken from the line, it’s placed in an insulated room and heaters are used to get the interior up to 50 degrees for five hours.
The calibrated noses are then called on to jump inside and use the same rating system.
If there is an unacceptable smell, the smell team is experienced enough to determine what it smells like and this will be traced back to a specific component and its chemical make up.
It just goes to show that you don't always know what your nose could be worth.