Automakers increasingly reuse plastics and fabrics to save costs, trash

[Bruce Nunnally]

Detroit Free Press

Empty water bottles, old carpeting and even old jeans are ending up in cars -- and not just thrown in the backseat or trunk. They're being recycled and turned into car parts, such as insulation and instrument panels, as automakers increasingly use recycled parts to cut costs and waste.

...

In the Cadillac XLR, CTS and STS models, GM uses a mix of new plastic and recycled tires as insulation to keep engine noise out of the vehicle interior. Nissan Motor Co. uses recycled front bumpers to make splash shields to go around the tires and also brackets that reinforce new front bumpers.

[Cadillac Jim]

I'm not sure about recycled Hondas and Nissans in my Cadillac, except possibly as sound-deadening materials or fillers.

[Texas Jim]

I'm not sure about recycled Hondas and Nissans in my Cadillac, except possibly as sound-deadening materials or fillers.

Maybe we could grind some of them up and make undercoating out of them.

My Bridgestone tires are real noisy.

A good undercoating of ground up Nissans might quieten it down.

[Cadillac Jim]

I just got a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE960A Pole Positions, and they don't seem to be noisy. Of course, that could be because of my Borla ProXS straight-through mufflers and lo-restriction cat or perhaps my choice of music. Or, maybe this particular model of Bridgestone isn't as noisy as some other models of Bridgestone tires. Or some combination. Whatever.