Author: staff@jalopnik.com (Alvin Reyes)

FotoDax/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made out of links. The catalytic converter is a non-serviceable part that may last well beyond 100,000 miles; or, in some cases, all the lifetime of the vehicle, provided the engine receives proper care. Contained in the cat converter (or just “cat”) is a honeycomb structure of precious metals, including rhodium, platinum, and palladium, which is the goal of thieves and is why cat converter theft continues to make headlines. Those metals convert toxic exhaust gases, corresponding to carbon monoxide, lead, and nitrogen dioxide, into much safer carbon dioxide and water, helping…

sritakoset/Shutterstock Have you ever noticed that a growing number of contemporary automobile parts are made up of plastic? Your grandpa is just not lying when he says that they do not make ’em like they used to. The plastic content in cars increased by 16% from 2012 to 2021, in response to a 2023 report by the American Chemistry Council. Which means that just about 411 kilos of a contemporary vehicle’s weight is plastic. While this makes up roughly 10% of the full weight of a automobile on average, this also accounts for nearly 50% of the full volume of the…