Whenever you smell burning rubber coming from your car, you know something's up. But what? It could be the breaks, the tires, or one of the many tubes in the engine itself.

A solution for this is to make each part have a different scent. That way you would know how big of an emergency you're in and what exactly the problem is.

The smells could really be anything as long as they're distinct and different. Perhaps the more urgent the problem, the grosser the smell, to entise people to actually get it fixed.
-- guy, Jan 01 2003

bliss: I've met a lot of women in Sweden with Volvas, but none that smell of chocolate. +
-- FarmerJohn, Jan 02 2003


The smells ARE distinct - it's just that your nose isn't refined enough. Upgrade your nose.
-- PeterSilly, Jan 02 2003


It would take a really strong scent to mask the gross smell of burning rubber, which, if present, would indicate that something was about to catch fire or already had. Which is a pretty big emergency. So haven't you negated your own idea?
-- egbert, Jan 02 2003


@egbert: the idea is to use different rubbers that make different smells when they burn. Sorry, I don't think I was clear enough.
-- guy, Jan 02 2003


Welcome [guy]. An interesting idea but, I fear not worth the effort. I can already tell the difference between brakes and tires (even without an upgraded nose). A failed coolant hose also yields a distinct smell, eventually.
-- half, Jan 02 2003


Catalytic converter.
-- half, Jan 02 2003


"Catalytic converter"

Mmmm been there. I had an old escort and the catalytic converter died. Every time the engine strained from a hill, or an attempt at acceleration the car stunk of a rotten egg, sulfury smell. rather unpleasant.
-- notme, Jan 02 2003


//What is it that goes awry and makes that fartish smell in cars I wonder?//
That would be the driver, shirley.
-- Pharaoh Mobius, Jan 02 2003


I don't really get how this works on a practical level. Every part of the car liable to failure has its own unique smell, which is released when failure is imminent? Where are these aromas stored and what is the mechanism of their release?

Furthermore, if your widget is just about to explode, and the car can somehow detect the situation, can't the "widget about to explode" sign illuminate? After all, what if you have a cold that day?

Also, I suspect a car has many more parts that are liable to failure than the number of discrete scents we can distinguish. (*sniff* Hmm, is that April lilac, meaning my carburetor is melting, or Welsh lavender, meaning my timing belt is about to fly off?)
-- snarfyguy, Jan 02 2003


My grandpa works on this same principle.

Just last night I could smell that his malfunction was an excess of rum. And the night before that I think he blew a gasket. *rimshot*
-- rapid transit, May 19 2003


Errr... What if you've got a cold?
-- nick3, Jul 11 2003


It sounds like various problems do have various smells. what we need is a scratch and sniff guide to the smells.
-- RBStimers, Mar 01 2005


Or an odor analyzer that could tell you which part is burning.
-- darkboy115, Mar 01 2005


Each part does already have a distinct smell

It is a matter of having a trained nose...

I Like RBStimers idea of having a scratch and sniff guide - that is cool.
-- shad, Mar 02 2005


//bliss: I've met a lot of women in Sweden with Volvas, but none that smell of chocolate. + // volvas,vulvas or volvos .which one is it? be a bit worried if it smelled like chocolate
-- andrew1, Apr 08 2005


Fluids in the car are already color-coded to make identification of leaks easier. Why not different smells for different malfunctions?
-- omegatron, Apr 08 2005



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