Did Henry Ford really make a hemp car?
Did Henry Ford really make a hemp car?
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Interestedinhemp
This is so innovative, and Henry was well before his time with this. This initiative occurred before we even had electric cars.
I have read that Henry presented a car that was made using hemp. I believe that the materials the vehicle was made from were durable fibers, including hemp. The vehicle allegedly ran off hemp fuel and vegetable oil.
There are lots of videos on YouTube and articles that refer to the hemp car made by Henry Ford. However, this matter does get disputed because some do not believe that Henry could be so advanced in the 1940s.
wavess
Yes, you can check pretty much any reputable source and they’ll agree that Henry Ford did make a hemp-based car in 1941. Ford was an innovator above all else, he also made other one-of-a-kind inventions, many that did not see the light of day.
Abe
As I have explained for a similar question, they almost did it. He even prepared the exact calculations for planting tomato per acre to produce alcohol; a famous quote of Ford says, “there’s enough alcohol in one year’s yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for one hundred years.” Ford introduced his product-in-mind in 1941, supported by 12 years of hard-working research, a car entirely made out of hemp, equipped with hydraulic pressure panels and tubular welded frame, namely the only steel part of the vehicle. He even contracted Rudolf diesel to design the engine. Eventually, the competition between the gasoline industry and the advocates of biodiesel ended to the detriment of the later, which at that time was nothing more than an idea.
wordsmith
In 1941, Henry Ford revealed his product that might have made our environment better, a hemp-fueled car that is also thoroughly made out of hemp. Among the entire body, the only steel was in the car’s tubular welded frame. Its body is ten times stronger than steel because of resin binder and panels that were made of cellulose fibers from hemp, wheat straw, and sisal.
hempbarn32
Yes, he did, ford’s hemp car I think they called it. Check out this youtube clip Henry ford’s plastic car.
Moogdummy
Yeah.
The video is cool to watch, but it’s a sad reminder of where we are in terms of alternative fuel.
To know that this invention is multiple decades old makes me feel like we skipped the less-destructive fuel type, to the non-emission teslas that are about to be driven by the masses.
Big shout out to the oil industry and their loyal lobbyists over the years.
amanda.tolar
He most certainly did! You can easily find a video online of him testing out the car’s strength and durability–by way of bashing it with an axe! It’s hard to grasp until you see it, but the axe head bounces off of the car. Not only was it primarily made of hemp, but it also ran on hemp fuel! Kind of a bummer to think about how much better shape our environment would be in currently had it caught on. ):
hempbarn32
Amanda,did you also know that Mercedes Benz C-class have over 25 parts that are made from hemp? Hemp plastic panels with a mixture of Hemp fiber, fiberglass, kenaf and flax. Hemp is starting to become a major player in the auto industry. Sadly not getting enough attention currently.
CrayM
Yes, they did. Back when Henry Ford was first developing the Ford Motor Company, they made a car almost entirely made of hemp, besides the steel frame. It also ran on 100% vegetable oil, from hemp but due to the impending marihuana bill during that time, it was never really introduced outside the Ford Company sphere.
Seymour Simone
That’s crazy! I would if it could be a sustainable fuel option in the future.
Hempmaster3000
Yes!
In the 1930s, after about 12 years of research Henry Ford made a Hemp based car in 1941. It was a hemp-fueld, hemp-bodied prototype car. The panels were composed of 70% hemp, which had the impact of strength ten times stronger than steel!