See how #Ford and @JoseCuervo work together to give excess agave a second chance as potential car parts. #FarmToCarhttps://t.co/OmvRv11dSj

— Ford Drive Green (@FordDriveGreen) July 19, 2016

It takes patience to be an agave plant. You grow slowly into a head of spiky leaves over the course of 7 to 10 years, before finally reaching maturity. Only then are you harvested, roasted, and pressed for your delicious sap.

The nectar you took 10 years developing is then fermented and distilled into delicious Jose Cuervo tequila, while the rest of you... well... what does happen to the rest?

The bulk of the agave plant is fiber, which can be used as mulch or fertilizer to go more agave plants, or it might be used to make artisan agave paper. Nothing quite as exciting as getting to be tequila.

Thanks to Ford Motor Company, however, the less-alcoholic parts of the agave plant finally get a chance to shine as eco-friendly bioplastics used in new Ford vehicles.

"At Ford, we aim to reduce our impact on the environment," said Debbie Mielewski, senior technical leader of Ford's materials sustainability research. "As a leader in the sustainability space, we are developing new technologies to efficiently employ discarded materials and fibers, while potentially reducing the use of petrochemicals and light-weighting our vehicles for desired fuel economy."

Does your new car contain agave? Find out at Bill Summers Ford LLC.