You hardly ever see them any more, but there was a time when every car had a flashlight with a magnetic device to attach it to the metal under the dashboard.

Then the metal became plastic and the magnets went by the wayside.

Now it looks like the auto industry may turn to a new material made from pineapple and banana fiber to replace the plastic.

The new material, called nanocellulosic plastic, is being developed by Brazilian scientists and is said to be lighter and stronger than carbon-fiber. The advantages to a banana based plastic are obvious, it's a renewable resource and it will make cars lighter, thereby boosting their fuel efficiency and making them greener.

So far there's no word on whether everything will be greenish yellow or not. You can read the whole story from Wired.com here.

Dave D.

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