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Audi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as Car Air Freshener

Volkswagen Group sells some of the weirdest products in the world. For example, VW makes curry sausages and ketchup by the millions, Porsche has 911-shaped paperclips, while Audi has lip balm and "Gecko Fragrance."
Audi Gecko Fragrance 7 photos
Photo: Audi
Audi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air FreshenerAudi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air FreshenerAudi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air FreshenerAudi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air FreshenerAudi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air FreshenerAudi Discovers Gecko Fragrance, Sells It as car Air Freshener
This product was launched a couple of days ago, and already all the dealerships in Germany are promoting it via Facebook.

Geckos are like the superglue of the lizard world. They have those weird fingers that stick onto anything and allow them to walk upside down. Because of that, Audi chose them as the official mascot to represent the traction of the quattro all-wheel drive system.

That has nothing to do with smelling good, but Audi went ahead and launched an official air freshener that looks like a gecko anyway. You can pick one up in red, yellow, grey or black online or via your local dealership. They cost €7.50, and the company says they can last for up to 60 days.

The gecko air freshener is inserted simply and quickly onto the ribs of the air vent of any Audi, old or new, using a metal clip or tape. The official website says they are available in pine scent and orange. That makes us wonder if the geckos know how to peel an orange or they are spoon-fed juice.

This isn't the official story, but according to most netizens, the gecko is a symbol of the quattro drivetrain launched in 2005. That coincided with the 25th anniversary of the famous Audi AWD system. The first item customers received was a large fridge magnet cut from metal.

Since then, the quattro gecko has been used in various commercials and even became the theme of a winter lodge during the Olympics.

So far, Audi has refrained from building a gecko robot, but the company is sponsoring the German team for the Google Lunar Challenge, so you could see quattro logos next to the Apollo 13 lander. Will that send air freshener sales through the roof?
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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