86 Years Ago, Air Conditioning Arrived in Cars!
- Published on 04/11/2025 12:01
- Modified on 04/11/2025 12:08
On November 4, 1939, Packard unveiled the first air-conditioned car, a revolution with a few technical hiccups.
The American brand Packard presented at the 1939 Chicago Auto Show an innovation that would change motorists’ lives: the first car equipped with air conditioning.
At the time, traveling in summer often felt like a mobile sauna. Melting asphalt, blazing sun, and heat radiating from the engine meant soaked shirts and endless trips. Packard, a luxury car manufacturer, decided to make a big impact by offering its customers the possibility to travel in a temperate cocoon. The system, developed with the company Bishop and Babcock, was a feat of engineering. Compressor, evaporator, coils, and fans allowed the air to be cooled, with power equivalent to 1.5 tons of ice melted in 24 hours!
Expensive, bulky but indispensable
But perfection was not yet achieved. The installation took up half of the trunk, cost a small fortune (about $275 at the time, equivalent to more than $5,000 today), and above all… you had to open the hood to turn off the air conditioning! The driver had to manually remove the compressor belt, a gesture far less stylish than the promised comfort.
Despite this somewhat makeshift beginning, the idea gained traction. In the 1950s, Cadillac and Chrysler would adopt the concept in a more compact and practical version. Today, it is impossible to imagine a car without air conditioning.
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In 1939, Packard did not yet know it, but its air-conditioned car had paved the way for decades of automotive comfort. A somewhat bulky revolution, certainly, but oh so refreshing!
ALSO READ: Electric motorists, air conditioning is your friend!
Illustration photo: RM SOTHEBY’S
This page is translated from the original post "Il y a 86 ans, la climatisation débarquait dans les voitures !" in French.
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