The Famous "New Car Smell." Do YOU Like It?

HATLEY: I'm 63. Surely that means I was there "years ago" just as you were, but I never smelled anything like bananas in those cars! Maybe it's different in different regions? But then, why would all that plastic, leather & metal smell like bananas...ever?? If the scent I'm talking about had smelled like bananas, you couldn't have coaxed me out of the car...well, not with anything less than some of my grandmother's incredibly tasty, made-from-scratch banana pudding! She used to add cherries to hers. Oooooh...the memories... I haven't seen it for some time, so maybe it's out of fashion (I hope!), but one of my pet peeves was trying to buy a magazine, when the racks had magazines with those "scratch-&-sniff" inserts. Perfume? You could have knocked me over with a wet noodle whenever I was in that section of the store! All those sharp, overly flowery, strong perfumes! Often, magazines had 3 or more inserts. Overwhelmingly nasty. Agh!! If there is a modern new car smell, I don't want to smell it! Maggiepie "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth, are people with something to hide." ~ Barack Hussein Obama (Snnnniiiff! Smell the irony! LOL!)

ISDSHROOMS: (Love that screen name! Hee!) I also crave those same fruits. We also see eye to eye on that car smell. I would do my level best, if I were head of a car company, to eradicate that horrid odor! But then all the "I loooove that scent" people would be angry with me, I suppose. [i] Chocolate[/i] air freshener, eh? Hmm...I'll bet I'd gain 5 pounds just sniffing it! Maggiepie "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth, are people with something to hide." ~ Barack Hussein Obama (Snnnniiiff! Smell the irony! LOL!)

Haha I for one, love the smell of bananas, they're my favorite fruit, second to pineapple. But how could you mistake the smell of "new car" for bananas? To me it only smells like nasty plastic leather-ripoff, and overheated vinyl polyster, I am being quite literal here but it's a gross smell to me, nothing like the sweet smell of fruit. Also, I remember having a chocolate car air freshener once, that was so cool.

Hurray for Dr. Brown, miracle worker!

I know, hon. I feel for you--you know I do! If I could wave a magic wand & make it all go away, I would! At least you're able to be around cats since your allergist treated you! Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Oddly, I can agree with you. It does smell clean, but I still dislike it. Of course, it might only be because it gives me the instant headache. It's hard to separate it from that. Oh, well. At least you enjoy it! That's good! Maggiepie "In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences." ~ Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer & orator 1833-1899

Yes, ain't it wonderful? How boring life would be if we were as alike as cookies! Maggiepie "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth, are people with something to hide." ~ Barack Hussein Obama (Snnnniiiff! Smell the irony! LOL!)

I don't have a car, as it happens. If I did have occasion to buy such scents, I might be a tad leery of "fruity scents," as I've had chemically-imitated "fruit" scents that made me sick. I prefer no smell at all to nearly any artificial one. I just wonder if actual new cars have that awful smell naturally, or do the manufacturers add it to the mix, since it's expected, & because so many like it? Thanks for the tip, though. We do indeed have several Asian communities here in Austin, Texas. As a matter of fact, we have more oriental restaurants here than Mexican ones! Maggiepie "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth, are people with something to hide." ~ Barack Hussein Obama (Snnnniiiff! Smell the irony! LOL!)

You know, you're right. Too much of anything isn't a Good Thing. People should keep that in mind. I like what one of my supervisors said about wearing perfume, apropos of how much is too much. I quote: "People should be hugging you before they can smell your perfume." Thank you for your wisdom, Marybeth! Maggiepie "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth, are people with something to hide." ~ Barack Hussein Obama (Snnnniiiff! Smell the irony! LOL!)

Nooo...not that I've heard of, but then, it would seem useless. I mean, how can a car be newer than new? Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Oh, yeah, don't even get me started on buses! I have had to get off & throw up more than once. The gas stink alone would do it, but when you add in the body odor & scents (especially the ones which clash!!!)--AAARGH!!! Lemmee off NOW, driver, if you don't want me to add to the stench! (As you might guess, I rarely take buses...& even then, only when forced to do so. ) You can see from my comment above how I feel about too much perfume! The trick of using canned "new car smell" spray isn't new. I heard of it decades ago. I'm not even sure it's legal. I sort of hope not. So you enjoy it. That's good for you. I have no problem if others do like it, but, can you explain why? How does it make you feel? Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Boy, are we ever on the same page regarding too much perfume--& not just on women; I've been blindsided by men's colognes, too! There were a couple of ex-co-workers who used to be what I call "nose-blind." That is, they seemed unable to tell they'd put far too much on! One was a very nice woman, but she actually created her own scents, & seemed to pour it on. One could tell for at least an hour after she'd gone that she'd been in the room. Worse, her scents all smelled like rotting fruit, to me! Sickening! Another co-worker--again, a very nice guy--wore some scent that just was brassy & loud-smelling, sharp...how does one describe smells? At any rate, his own body odor added to it. I actually put a bar of soap in his work space as a strong hint. It didn't take... I think it was a cultural thing with him.... Finally, in self defense, after talking to our supervisor & begging her (to no avail) to establish a rule that strong scents should be avoided, I was left with only 2 choices: quit (NOT an option), or go to the top & plead my case. I did the latter. I submitted medical proof that bolstered my complaint, showing that scents can trigger bad results, from headaches to grande mals, posited that such was disruptive & made for an intolerable work environment, & put it all under the umbrella title of "The P.U. Movement" (for Perfume Unwanted). I ended with asking the university to make a rule forbidding strong scents in closed areas. Lo & behold, it worked! Ironically, shortly after that, I accidentally triggered a grande mal in a sweet coworker who smelled some glue remover I had opened. She was across the room & around the corner from me, so I never dreamed she'd even smell it! I felt so bad watching her writhing on the floor. She decided to quit working at the library, & work at home after that. I feel so sorry & horrible, & I'll never forgive myself. Regarding laundry soap, dryer sheets & such, I can tolerate most of them, especially after the clothes have aired out. What bugs me are most of the spray can "air fresheners," especially the ones purporting to "smell of open out-doors/fresh rain/forest-y!" Hmph! In a porcine animal's ocular body part! Worse are the canned flowery-smelling ones. Gag. Anyway, I hate the chemical smell that lingers. It's not an allergy, but it does rankle. Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

So do I, as it's in my contract that the PTBs who own the complex where I live can kick me out if it doesn't! Since the constant wearing of oxygen has pretty much killed my sense of smell, I often ask visitors to let me know! So far, they've all said it doesn't smell. (Whew! ) I have smelled a few perfumes I wish I could wear, but which initiate the headache response. I like good-smelling things, too! But I can't ever recall even liking the new car smell, even before I connected it with the instant headache. It's unlike any other smell I know, so it's hard to describe what it smells like to me! Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Alas...our romance is doomed, then...over before it even started! Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi