Ford and Heinz Consider Making Cars That Run on Ketchup

Ford and Heinz announced today that their researchers have teamed up to explore making car parts from the tomato by-product that is leftover from ketchup production. If dried tomato skins are durable enough, then they could be used to make wiring brackets or the bins that hold change and other personal objects.

The companies claim that the idea — which boasts the kitschy tagline “You Say Tomato; We Say Tom-Auto” — is part of an effort to look into developing “sustainable bio-plastic material for vehicles” that could “reduce the use of petrochemicals in manufacturing and reduce the impact of vehicles on the environment,” according to a news release.

Research on this ketchup car concept is in the very early stages, so no word on whether drivers would get fries with that.

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