Ford is going to officially unveil the all-new 2013 Ford Escape next month at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show. Ford has already announced that the new Escape will be offered with a choice of three four-cylinder engines, but Ford has also announced a new use of plastic bottles for the Escape.
The carpet inside the next-generation Escape will be made of 25 recycled 20-ounce plastic bottles.
“It’s a good use of recycled product and keeps it out of landfills,” said Laura Sinclair, a materials engineer for Ford.
The plastic bottles are actually used to improve the durability of the carpet. “The polyester fibers created from pop bottles make up a nonwoven carpet material,” Sinclair said. “So think of it like when you make spaghetti – everything is intermixed. If you have more fibers running on each other – rather than what’s underneath, which can be more abrasive – that helps reduce wear.” Adding more plastic bottles to the mix helps the carpet not wear out as quickly.
The photo above is also our first official preview of what the new Escape will look like.
