It was 1941, and the United States was simultaneously propping up the UK with increasing exports and gearing up for hat looked like our inevitable entry into the war. Our steel companies were being stretched thin, and as a consequence it appeared that the metal necessary for car production would become increasingly scarce.
Popular Mechanics Magazine, Vol.76 No.6,Page 1, December, 1941
Henry Ford recognized the predicament his company may soon be in, and began a search for alternative materials for his cars. In December, he unveiled in Popular Mechanics Magazine a new car with plastic panels “grown from the soil”. The new panels were produced from sisal, hemp and other natural fibers, had an impact strength 10 times that of steel of equal thickness, and were considerably lighter as well.
From: Popular Mechanics Magazine:
“[T]here’s an industrial revolution in progress just the same, a revolution in materials that will affect every home. After twelve years of research, the Ford Motor Company has completed an experimental automobile with a plastic body. Although its design takes advantage of the properties of plastics, the streamline car does not differ greatly in appearance from its steel counterpart. The only steel in the hand-made body is found in the tubular welded frame on which are mounted 14 plastic panels, 3/16 inch thick. Composed of a mixture of farm crops and synthetic chemicals, the plastic is reported to withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting. Even the windows and windshield are of plastic. The total weight of the plastic car is about 2,000 pounds, compared with 3,000 pounds for a steel automobile of the same size.”
Popular Mechanics Magazine, Vol.76 No.6,Page 3 December, 1941