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
Kerb Feelers!
Dated a girl named Kerb once.
A fad that faded quickly was the small, spiral cell phone repeater antenna that would magically increase your reception. Tons of folks without cell phones glued them to their rear windows.
Back in the day, I was privileged to be visited and able to assist the newest hire of the Car Freshner company at the time. As they were going digital. I got to visit the facilities. Shown around. Free samples!
They were in a state of reimagining, and at the time, were at the top of their game. Who would have thought that Watertown, NY would be the capitol of making cars smell less odious? I rate this as one of my career highs. AAY, you were the bomb.
8 ball or pistol grip shifter, fuzzy dice, steering wheel covers (for better or worse) and most importantly… spinners on steelies.
Fuzzy dice.
I haven’t read all the comments, but I love my authentic Coco Mats. The packaging is thick brown paper with black prints of many vintage vehicles that would use Coco Mats, from various VW products, Little British Cars, lots of sports cars. I almost used the bag as shelf liner, it’s so cool.
Here’s an unboxing video showing the bag;
https://youtu.be/ayijTMfEZkM?si=KMqXu1570UJiwAkD
Really depends on the era. More than cars, their accessories are very period-specific. You wouldn’t want window louvers on a ’55 Chevy any more than you’d want wide whites and fender skirts on a Trans Am.
Today, I dunno, a COEXIST sticker? Seems pretty lame alongside all the necker’s knobs and clear vinyl seat covers we used to have.
Stickers of Calvin peeing on the driver’s hated competitive brand of vehicle.
If you’re a fan of the band Clutch, you might have a Jesus on the dashboard.
Saw a ‘49 Chevy street rod today with the whole front end painted in flames so I’m gonna go with flame decals.
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
My mom’s car when I was a kid was a ’77 Corolla SR5 Liftback. The Japanese Volvo 1800ES. I thought it was the coolest car ever but it sadly returned to the Earth before I was of driving age.
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
That’s 100x more than it cost back then. That probably beats inflation but not by enough.
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.
Other white students said the different color crowns signified gang affiliation. Maybe, IDK, but they were everywhere.
Not all that common, but my grandfather always had a compass mounted to the dashboard or windshield on a little gimbal.
Yeah, not all that common but there were quite a few out there in the 60s & 70s. Popular with college professors; my dad was one & he had one as did many of his colleagues in various departments at the local state university. I still have the one that my dad had in his 1969 Volvo 145 station wagon (which he bought new in the fall of ’68) for 20 years. It never really worked quite properly because there was so much metal in the Volvo, lol. It works fine when outside and away from any ferromagnetic metal, though. Maybe I should try it in my ’54 Panhard Dyna Z when I get it back on the road, as it’s all aluminum…
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.