Those of us who live in Florida know this one absolute truth: the climate is absolutely brutal on automotive finishes and on car interiors. Blame it on a near-ideal blend of UV radiation, heat, humidity and salt air, but no other climate on the planet can destroy paint as well as Florida.
As you’d guess, there’s an industry devoted to exploiting Florida’s climate for the development of future automotive paint and interior materials. As My Fox Tampa Bay (via Autoblog) explains, Q-Lab torture-tests materials in a field near Homestead, Florida, in the shadows of the Everglades National Park.
Samples may spend as long as a decade under the harsh Florida sun before a manufacturer will approve the finish for use on a production vehicle. Each day, up to 40,000 readings from these samples are taken, and annually each sample is reviewed in detail to accurately gauge the impact of Florida’s climate.
While the testing may be cruel and unusual to automotive paints and prospective interior materials, the net result is a more durable product. We wouldn’t want to be the technician inspecting the panels in a snake-filled field under the hot Florida sun, but we’re glad someone is doing it.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
