It’s good it’s up for the many to read, but this is not surprising to anyone who has remotely worked on chemical systems.
I’ve only done Computer simulation of polymers. I haven’t even taken a single chemistry class past freshman year. And yet there’s no way anyone is going to convince me that smell is OK.
That smell is the slow degassing of all the chemicals used in the production of the car. It will include foaming agents, plasticizers, solvents, curing agents, dyes, paints, etc.
When I but a plastic baby bottle (we try to use glass, but for some things plastic works best) I always put it through several dishwasher cycles. I’ll never pour a warm liquid into it. And I always do a smell test to make sure there’s no unatural smell (rotted milk vomit I’m “ok” with. “Can’t place it” freaks me out)
I always air out the car if I buy a new one (even used! God knows what’s in air fresheners and detailing products) by running the fan at 75% if I can’t have the window open.
I used to think the same thing, then it was pointed out to me that most air comes from engine bleed air. That is, it’s air that has been compressed by the engine and can contain aerosolized engine oil. Oil that has been heated to really high T (that’s really bad). There are standards to filter it before it goes into the cabin.
Some aircraft (Dreamliner?) have separate pumps to avoid using bleed air (improves engine efficiency). But even that pump will need lubricating. However for that pump you can probably use a safer oil and also not expose it to extreme heat.