Henry Ford presenting his model in biodegradable plastic made from organic materials including industrial hemp. (Credit: Verymagazine.org)
After twelve years of research, in 1941 Henry Ford presented a groundbreaking invention: his hemp fuelled and cellulose-plastic prototype car.
According to an article on Verymagazine.com the panels composed of 70% cellulose fibres proved to have the impact strength 10 times stronger than steel and the car was to run on hemp-ethanol.
“The experimental model is pictured as a step toward materialization of Henry Ford's belief that some day he would "grow automobiles from the soil."
—Popular Mechanics, December 1941
An all-plastic car 300 pounds lighter than comparable models built of steel and having ten times the impact resistance of steel is near completion in the Ford plant at Dearborn, Mich., Popular Science Monthly announced last week. In a special interview, it was said, Henry Ford predicted that his test car, made of plastic body, hood and fenders, would be lighter, safer and less expensive.
Henry Ford's 'plastic hemp car' from 1941
