For the solution, they're looking to nature. The leaves of some plants are always clean and shiny, he pointed out. Perhaps we can simulate this with a technical system. Joachim Diener, a biologist at the Ulm center, also works with plants, more specifically the fibers they produce. The plastic parts of a car are normally reinforced with glass fibers, he explained.
Natural fibers cost and weigh less than glass fibers, yet they have comparable technical properties.
They can be recycled and do not emit carbon dioxide. The interior parts of many Mercedes products are now made of plastic reinforced with flax. Ulm scientists are conducting the final testing on the use of flax in the floor panels of the Mercedes A class. They said there was no chance we would get the OK to use natural fibers. DaimlerChrysler does not stint when it comes to research.