In the early 1940s Henry Ford started experimenting in plastic parts for cars, resulting in a plastic car made from soybeans. The frame was made of tubular steel with 14 plastic panels attached weighing in at 2000 lbs. 1000 lbs. less than a steel car. Some of you are probably wondering what prompted Ford to build this car, there are several reasons: shortage of metal, the plastic panels were safer than metal and could survive a roll over, not to mention Ford took an ax to the panel to demonstrate the strength and the ax bounced off the material, plus he wanted to combine industry with agriculture. Unfortunately only the one plastic car was made before the US entered the war and all production ceased.
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