Analysis of odor in car cabin

Odor in a new car cabin is caused by a complex mixture of various compounds evolved from parts and materials. To understand the odor and the compounds responsible for the odor, sensory evaluations and instrumental gas analysis were carried out. In sensory evaluations, odor intensity, pleasantness and odor characters were evaluated for 73 new cars. The odor compounds of 17 new cars were analyzed with GC and GC-MS using adsorbent tubes and canisters.From the principal components analysis of sensory evaluations, odor characters were classified into six types. The correlation between sensory evaluation results and concentrations of odor compounds identified the compounds that are responsible for the odor.