Apropos of nothing, I suddenly had to know the history of Little Tree Car Freshners (not fresheners, it’s freshners) and that got me thinking about today’s Autopian Asks question – though I gotta say, it’ll be hard to beat Little Trees as a truly iconic car accessory. Especially if we’re thinking about accessories that go beyond the items car people clamor for (or used to) such as Recaro seats, Holley carbs, Nardi steering wheels and such.
The true icons, to me, are those car accessories that even “normies” know about and purchase. Like my college buddy who didn’t know beans about cars, but he knew a foot-shaped gas pedal was cool, and by gum, he had one. What qualifies as such a thing today? Perhaps a skull shift knob? Chain-link license plate frame? Stick-on fender vents? I don’t know, you tell me.
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Oh, and back to Little Tree Air Freshners real quick, in case you were wondering:
In 1952, a milk truck driver in northern New York complained to Julius Sämann about the smell of spilled milk. To address this issue, Julius combined exceptional fragrances with specialized blotter material and invented the first car air freshener. He gave it the shape of an abstract evergreen tree in honor of his years extracting aromatic oils in Canada’s pine forests.
These air fresheners proved an efficient, high-quality solution to a common problem and soon they were flying off shelves. Orders started rolling in from all over the country and quickly gained a strong international following. Julius’ pioneering product has become a global symbol of freshness and quality.
Now you know! Let’s get to it in the comments: What Are The Most Iconic Accessories For Cars?
Top graphic images: Little Trees; Curboom via Amazon
I had a set of fuzzy dice in my Austin Mini- they would block my view when turning left, not the smartest thing on earth
Ahhhhh! I’ve somehow never seen Winky before and now I am scarred.
Sadly, the Little Trees company doesn’t have an exhibit you can visit but you can smell the factory from the edge of the industrial park. If you’re basing yourself out of Watertown visiting the St. Lawrence Valley because it’s cheaper than Alexandria Bay or the other riverside tourist towns it’s worth driving past.
The rear window louver shades…
https://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/AST1332.htm
All the examples I was thinking of have already been mentioned (Truck Nutz, fake hood scoops, etc.) but I just want to go on record as saying that I would totally rock Winkie the Cat in my car today, if it were available. I may have to scour eBay for one of those little gems.
Edit: OK, well Winky’s not worth THAT much, even if they are “American Made”. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1186310514/classic-car-1950s-automobile-vintage?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
Air conditioning
When I lived in Detroit while attending CCS, crown-shaped air fresheners on the rear parcel shelf of cars was a big thing.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ftsa&q=crown+air+fresheners+on+back+shelf&ia=images&iax=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.storeone.com.pk%2Fimages%2Fproduct_gallery%2F1697207131_Capture.PNG
The Detroiters Woodward Dream Cruise episode nicely captures those.
Not all that common, but my grandfather always had a compass mounted to the dashboard or windshield on a little gimbal.
It seems like window rain/wind deflectors are pretty popular nowadays, I see commonly on enthusiast and normal cars.
How about curb feelers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_feeler
I was surprised to see that you can actually still buy the things on Amazon.