Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

A friend of mine, a former '39 Packard 1708 Coupe owner, sent me a YouTube clip about Packard and A/C.
"This Day in History November 4,1939,First Air Conditioned Car"
Pictured in the clip is a 1939 Packard..
I'm guessing that the poster just put in the wrong photo and that the car would have been a 1940 model as I believe the first A/C was 1940.

I need to clarify this as there is $0.25 at stake.

I believe 18th series, so calendar year 1939, model year 1940.

Everything I have also says the 40 models were the year the first practical units were commercially available to a buyer although one article mentioned a test installation in an earlier model while under development in 39. I have a photo of a Cadillac with their not practical and later abandoned version which occupied almost the entire trunk of a 39 but no Packard photos showing the unit in earlier than 40s. If he sees this post Archiveman is doing the book on the Packard AC and with all his research should have the definitive answer.

Howard is correct. 1940 models were the first commercially available cars with air-conditioning.

1940 was the first year but I understand that it was available as early as 1938 on Henney-Packard ambulances. Not sure where I read that did I did read it somewhere!

Checkout this also.
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... lat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=70
Wes

This is, what The Philadelphia Inquirer reported May 12, 1940. Click to enlarge.







It says first announced in last November [1939]. Five months later (March 24, 1940) the Indianapolis Sunday Star reports on the first of the Packard cars to include a revolutionary method of automobile air conditioning.




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Coachbuilt.com could have been a possible source of yours.

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Gordon (pckrd320), this confidence-inspiring -> clip ?




Well, red is true. Take a look at the original ad below, please, which was published in 1939 but reads 1940.
A couple of months later at the Chicago Auto Show 1940, Packard tromboned "magic to astonish the men from Mars" according to the Chicago Suntimes (fee required).



Click to enlarge!

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One final find.
Wes

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Okay just one more post.
Wes

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