Can't get enough of that new-car smell? We've got some news for you: It might be time to get back to sniffing out bargains instead.

Cars these days are made with dozens of chemicals - many of which "out-gas" from materials inside your car and find their way into your lungs.

Other chemicals are absorbed by direct contact through your skin. The vinyl seating under your legs and the plastic on the steering wheel are two common places where toxic chemicals are hiding in plain sight.

Just how dangerous is this? And what can you do to make your commute a little less like a field trip to Love Canal? To find out, Car Talk recently talked with Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center's Auto Project Campaign Director, and manager of the web site, healthycar.org.