Gold Little Trees Failed to Save These Cars from the Crusher

During my research of automotive history as seen in the car graveyards of the world, I encounter hundreds of the iconic Car-Freshner Little Tree air fresheners along the way.

These are by far the most popular mirror-hangers in cars that need a bit of olfactory assistance (and not just in the United States), and the last scent we admired in a junkyard context was Green Apple a couple of years back. Today, we'll look at the seldom-seen Gold Little Tree, photographed over 14 years in the boneyards of four states.

There have been two generations of the Gold Little Tree. The first was a plain green tree with gold-colored lettering, available during the first decade or so of our current century.

The current version is still sold; Car-Freshner says it is inspired "by the opulence of the Roaring 20s" and features a "luxurious combination of sparkling Ginger Gold apples, honey-dipped florals, and glowing amber woods" (presumably because elemental gold doesn't have much of a scent).

Oakland, California, July 17 2009.

Phoenix, Arizona, April 10 2017.

Denver, Colorado, July 5 2017.

Englewood, Colorado, July 14 2022.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, April 6 2023.

Denver, Colorado, July 20 2023.

Aurora, Colorado, September 3 2023.