Image: 1940 Packard ad via http://www.oldcaradvertising.com/Packard%20Ads/1940/1940%20Packard%20Ad-03.jpg .
Introduced on Nov. 4, 1939:
“The car that made driving with the windows up on a hot day cool was the 1940 Packard 180. The mechanical refrigeration unit automatically switched to heating in winter, and as such was dubbed not an air conditioner, but rather a Weather Conditioner. The factory-installed technological triumph cooled, heated, dehumidified, and even filtered cabin air from pollen and dust and other unwanted weather-related items.”
“It took almost 10 years from the first industry experiments before Packard Motor Car Co. introduced the first factory-installed air conditioner, on a 1940 model at the 1939 Chicago auto show. It ran on a compressor, but the refrigerating coils were behind the back seat.”
Click on the links to learn more about the history of automobile air conditioning as well as the details of the system installed in the 1940 Packard.