According to HealthyCar (via Autopia), the Center conducted a study to determine the amount of hazardous materials such as chlorine and mercury found in new cars. The Nissan Versa scored the worse at 5.0 while the Chevrolet Cobalt secured the top score at 0.5. Other vehicles that were ‘of concern’ include the Subaru Forester and Chevrolet Silverado.
Our take? We need more data. Even the post admitted that the Ecology Center did not provide information of what quantified ‘concern’ and ‘not concern’ when it did its study. There’s a big difference, for example, of chemicals that might lead to respiratory ailments within a decade or which will trigger your asthma as soon as you close the car door.