31st August 2003, 4:28 PM
Car exhaust is only truly damaging in super high concentrations. Fuel today is much cleaner than it was 20 years ago (with the exception of diesel). The main byproduct of the fuel is virtually harmless CO2. But if you run a car in an enclosed room, it will produce carbon monoxide, which will quickly kill you in high quantities. So unless you operate your car inside the house or you decide to put your mouth over the tailpipe, car exhaust is considerably much less harmful than cigarette smoke.