Some History about Vehicles and Hemp
Henry Ford was born in 1863, was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and is considered the father of modern production lines used for large mass production. This man went down in the history of the United States by introducing a low-cost vehicle, called the "model T"; this had a tremendous impact on the habits of life of the American citizens of that time, contributing to the birth of the " automobile civilization " of the 20th century.
This entrepreneur noticed the possibilities of plastics made of renewable materials. The archives of the Henry Ford Museum in the state of Michigan indicate that on August 13, 1941, Ford unveiled a bioplastic body vehicle to the public; sources indicate that the car's compound contained flaxseed, wheat fiber, soybeans, ramie fiber and hemp. It is considered that most of the body was soy with between 10% and 30% of hemp fibers. Undoubtedly, this man came to know the advantages of the hemp plant, and he knew that this material could provide enormous economic gains if grown in large quantities.
With the start of World War II and the participation of the Americans, the bioclassic vehicle project was ended. There are different versions on the reasons why the project did not advance, some say it was due to the criminalization of the cultivation of hemp, others say that it was due to the boom of the oil industry. The fact is that after the Second World War the efforts of the United States were focused on other aspects, they were not aimed at producing cars and therefore the Ford project did not go ahead.
Some Initiatives
Although the use of hemp for the manufacture of vehicles is not yet something entirely established in the world, efforts have been made to promote it. Let's see only two cases:
Mr. Bruce Dietzen, a native of Key West - Florida, used the chassis of a Mazda to build a vehicle that included in its components the use of 100 pounds of hemp imported from China. Some parts of the car were made from hemp, such as the body, the floorboard and the rugs. The parts of the engine, mirrors, windshields and other electrical parts were made of other materials.
There was another case in 2010, the Canadian company Motive Industries manufactured a vehicle called the "Kestrel", an electric car with a body made of plastic hemp, like the Ford model. This change in materials translated into a lighter weight vehicle, with fuel efficiency gains of 25 to 30%.
According to the manufacturers of the "Kestrel" hemp resists collisions better than steel, it is due to its elasticity. The body of the car, made by infusing hemp stalks with polymer resin, is safe, strong and impact-resistant. Moreover, hemp production complies with every eco standard we have today!
"Why use forests which have taken centuries to grow, and mines which have been excavated for decades, if we can obtain the equivalent of those mineral products, with the annual growth of the fields?"
Henry Ford
A future is perceived in which hemp fiber will be utilized in vehicles. If you want to expand information on this and other uses of cannabis, we invite you to read our next blog, we also invite you to participate in our seminars where you can expand your knowledge in this field. For more information visit our website www.pharmacologyunvieristy.com or write to us at info@pharmacologyuniversity.com
