A Brief History of Rubber
Rubber dates back as far as 1600 BCE to ancient Aztec and Mayan civilizations. But rubber doesn’t just magically appear on your tires, floor mats, cargo liners and other auto parts—it has to come from someplace. The Ancient civilizations mastered the art of extracting rubber from rubber trees. The latex within the tree is collected through a relatively slow process in which the tree must be sliced precisely. The latex must then be mixed with ammonia to keep it from solidify. When the material was first harvested, it was used to make hollow dolls, bouncing balls and even running shoes…now the material is used to keep the floors of our vehicles clean.
Why Rubber?
Rubber cargo mats are far superior to carpet cargo mats for a multitude of reasons.
- Rubber cargo mats offer more protection for your vehicle’s upholstery.
- Rubber cargo liners clean easily.
- Their molded designs help to trap mud, water, road salt and other debris.
- The rubber surface shows wear less than carpet ruined by friction.
Here’s one of our review on cargo liners.
WeatherTech – With a taller outer lip, the WeatherTech floor liner creates a pan in which debris and liquids are caught. In addition to the tall walls, the actual rubber mat features rectangular designs with an anti-slide texture.
Husky Liners – Husky has two different types of rubber cargo liners. Their common liner features a grated, diamond-plate design that helps trap liquids while looking rugged. Their second cargo design is the Weatherbeater that features deep grooves/channels and tall outer walls to direct water away from the carpet.
Lloyd – The rubber mats designed by Lloyd feature a unique dimpled design that catches liquids and debris in the small, individual inset cups.
Hexomat – As you may expect, the Hexomat cargo liners have deep, inset hexagonal shapes to trap any messes that come their way.