Flexi Says: All living organisms: respond to their environment grow and change reproduce and have offspring have complex chemistry maintain homeostasis are built of structures called cells pass their traits onto their offspring. These characteristics are followed by potato and not by car. Potato is the root of the tree from which a new potato plant can develop and even after the harvesting, a potato is still alive and it is in a dormant state. Thus, potatoes are living while the car is non-living.