The "new car smell" air fresheners don’t really smell like the real thing, but rental cars always do, no matter how old they are. What do they use?
I don’t smoke, and I don’t allow smoking in my car, so that does help. My car doesn’t really smell like anything, though, and I want it to smell like I just bought it.
Maybe they spray them with formaldehyde which is used in the manufacture of many of the carpet and upholstery materials used in new cars. It’s also what undertakers use to preserve dead people and it can cause breathing problems. It is the source of the "new" car smell. Some people are seriously allergic to it.