The History of Aircon in cars?
Discussion
Ok, a bit Geeky, but quite interesting,
Discussion in the office earlier, 35 year old colleague remembers holidays as a kid in a hot, sweaty car but as an adult his cars have always had A/C.
I first remember experiencing it in 1990 when in the US working and a colleague had an old Honda Civic, a sun bleached red thing with an overpoweringly sweet air freshner installed, that and the stifling heat had me winding the window down frantically on getting in and the madman told me to wind it back up again, as this car has "Air", I had heard of Air Conditioning before but wasn't sure what it did, then this lovely, icy air started trickling through, what witchcraft is this ! we did a 30 min drive and it got quite chilly in there, I was most impressed, then we got out and being hit by the hot air was a bit of a shock, I was a convert !
The first time I had it in my car was on a 1990 Audi 100 in about 1995, it was an SE so it had it, but it looked like an afterthought as the button was in a little additional box between the seats mounted in the coin tray, worked well enough though, but most cars didnt have it then, it was a bit of an anomaly and the Audi was quite a barge, I then didnt have it for a good while, around the mid/late nineties it started appearing more in stuff like Peugeot 306 D Turbos (Remember those ? quite a hit at the time) and it started filtering down.
Even a lot of big cars back in the seventies didnt have it, looking for info here but I dont think it was even standard on Jags and stuff, anyone remember or have a car equipped with A/C, did Rollers get it as standard ?
Anyway, apologies for the geekiness, your AC experiences please
Discussion in the office earlier, 35 year old colleague remembers holidays as a kid in a hot, sweaty car but as an adult his cars have always had A/C.
I first remember experiencing it in 1990 when in the US working and a colleague had an old Honda Civic, a sun bleached red thing with an overpoweringly sweet air freshner installed, that and the stifling heat had me winding the window down frantically on getting in and the madman told me to wind it back up again, as this car has "Air", I had heard of Air Conditioning before but wasn't sure what it did, then this lovely, icy air started trickling through, what witchcraft is this ! we did a 30 min drive and it got quite chilly in there, I was most impressed, then we got out and being hit by the hot air was a bit of a shock, I was a convert !
The first time I had it in my car was on a 1990 Audi 100 in about 1995, it was an SE so it had it, but it looked like an afterthought as the button was in a little additional box between the seats mounted in the coin tray, worked well enough though, but most cars didnt have it then, it was a bit of an anomaly and the Audi was quite a barge, I then didnt have it for a good while, around the mid/late nineties it started appearing more in stuff like Peugeot 306 D Turbos (Remember those ? quite a hit at the time) and it started filtering down.
Even a lot of big cars back in the seventies didnt have it, looking for info here but I dont think it was even standard on Jags and stuff, anyone remember or have a car equipped with A/C, did Rollers get it as standard ?
Anyway, apologies for the geekiness, your AC experiences please
Good post.
My first experience was around 1992 when I hired a Pontiac Firebird from Orlando airport with a friend of mine. We drove that car through Florida, Alabama and Georgia and it was absolutely essential with heat and high humidity in September. Driving through torrential rain without the windows misting up was a revelation.
Once the interior cooled, the only indication of the outside temperature was windows which were warm to the touch.
Driving back in the UK with misty windows and a sweltering cabin in the summer made me wish for AC but it took maybe 7 years before I bought a car with it fitted. That was a Corrado VR6 which had it retro fitted because it was never an option in the UK.
My 993 has it and it had been expensive to keep running. Replacing a corroded evaporator is a 7-10 hour job. But I wouldn't want to be without it especially on long european trips on motorways.
My first experience was around 1992 when I hired a Pontiac Firebird from Orlando airport with a friend of mine. We drove that car through Florida, Alabama and Georgia and it was absolutely essential with heat and high humidity in September. Driving through torrential rain without the windows misting up was a revelation.
Once the interior cooled, the only indication of the outside temperature was windows which were warm to the touch.
Driving back in the UK with misty windows and a sweltering cabin in the summer made me wish for AC but it took maybe 7 years before I bought a car with it fitted. That was a Corrado VR6 which had it retro fitted because it was never an option in the UK.
My 993 has it and it had been expensive to keep running. Replacing a corroded evaporator is a 7-10 hour job. But I wouldn't want to be without it especially on long european trips on motorways.
I recall that a few cars my parents had did have AC but it was never used as they had (and still have) the mentality that if you're hot open a window and if cold put on a jumper so we sweltered doing road trips across Europe, the US, UAE and Oz as kids!
My 1st car I bought (so second car overall) had AC added as an afterthought with a similarly oddly placed button and it was glorious, although a bit gratuitous on a basic Ford Ka (1997 P438KON)
My 1st car I bought (so second car overall) had AC added as an afterthought with a similarly oddly placed button and it was glorious, although a bit gratuitous on a basic Ford Ka (1997 P438KON)
In the 90s I remember a/c being an option that cost around 2k sterling equivalent, on something everyday like a Honda or Peugeot that would only have cost 8k. It was the one box that a lot of agonising went into ticking, and this in a hot country that sees around 3 months of 30C average daily highs.
My UK SL (1982) does not even have it.
Yet apparently the Americans had a/c as an in car option since the 50s.
My UK SL (1982) does not even have it.
Yet apparently the Americans had a/c as an in car option since the 50s.
Back in the mid 90's I had a late 80's MK3 (1985-1994)Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9 V6 that had air conditioning. In that generation of Granny the Scorpio name denoted the top of the range model and came above the Ghia. Not to be confused with the later boggle eyed car that was called the Scorpio. I think even the MK2 (1977-1985)Granny had A/C as an option back in the early 80's on the Ghia X models.
It was by far the best A/C system I've had in a car, it really was freezing cold and on all but the hotest of days you'd have to use a bit of re-heat to take the chill off.
Reason being it used R12 gas instead of R134 which most modern cars use. In every car since I've never thought the A/C was cold enough and I'm quite obsessed with annual re-gasing and making sure the system is correctly working, they are just not as cold as that old Granny was.
It was by far the best A/C system I've had in a car, it really was freezing cold and on all but the hotest of days you'd have to use a bit of re-heat to take the chill off.
Reason being it used R12 gas instead of R134 which most modern cars use. In every car since I've never thought the A/C was cold enough and I'm quite obsessed with annual re-gasing and making sure the system is correctly working, they are just not as cold as that old Granny was.
Early A/C systems ran on good old R12, far better than the modern blended R134a, R12 was phased out through the Montreal protocol due to its chlorine content and its potential effect on the ozone layer. The old gas was more efficient and had a larger molecular structure and therefore leaked less than the new gas that can soak through the hydraulic hoses. The mad thing now is the "new" refrigerant gases are so inefficient that they are given GWP figures stating their "Global Warming Potential"
One little point you should all know is, always use the a/c system once in awhile, the idea of this is to keep the seals lubricated with oil to stop them drying out. You only need to run it once every 3/6 months for 1/2 hr of so, this will also insure the system still has a gas charge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_condi...
One little point you should all know is, always use the a/c system once in awhile, the idea of this is to keep the seals lubricated with oil to stop them drying out. You only need to run it once every 3/6 months for 1/2 hr of so, this will also insure the system still has a gas charge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_condi...
Few years ago now, I was sent out by my German employers to set up and develop a US office for a small tech company. In a mix of company policy and German efficiency, once I was in the US it was deemed I had to hire cars to get anywhere rather than fly. Being based out of San jose, I deliberately avoided meetings in anywhere other than California, and took one in Anaheim, which was about 6 hours drive away.
Somewhere on the i5 is a sign at the start of a fairly long jaunt uphill saying to turn off the air conditioner to prevent overheating. I can only assume that trucks either didnt have much power or had basic aircon because mine was working fine all the way up and down. Or the sign was really old and hadnt been taken down since the 80s or something. Maybe it was in lorries before cars?
Somewhere on the i5 is a sign at the start of a fairly long jaunt uphill saying to turn off the air conditioner to prevent overheating. I can only assume that trucks either didnt have much power or had basic aircon because mine was working fine all the way up and down. Or the sign was really old and hadnt been taken down since the 80s or something. Maybe it was in lorries before cars?
Not ac as such, but I used to be into hotrods and one day saw a big pod on the passenger door of a 30s Ford. I looked into it and found out it was called a swamp cooler.
Ingenious idea, it was an air intake that forced air through a load of damp wood shavings, then into the cabin. So, a simple evaporative cooler that could be made by anyone with basic handy skills.
Downside is they don't work in high humidity.
Ingenious idea, it was an air intake that forced air through a load of damp wood shavings, then into the cabin. So, a simple evaporative cooler that could be made by anyone with basic handy skills.
Downside is they don't work in high humidity.
donkmeister said:
Not ac as such, but I used to be into hotrods and one day saw a big pod on the passenger door of a 30s Ford. I looked into it and found out it was called a swamp cooler.
Ingenious idea, it was an air intake that forced air through a load of damp wood shavings, then into the cabin. So, a simple evaporative cooler that could be made by anyone with basic handy skills.
Downside is they don't work in high humidity.
See attached, they looked like a jet-pack!!!Ingenious idea, it was an air intake that forced air through a load of damp wood shavings, then into the cabin. So, a simple evaporative cooler that could be made by anyone with basic handy skills.
Downside is they don't work in high humidity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_condi...
1st car I had with A/C was my Nissan 200SX, J plate - had to rurn the AC off a few seconds before overtaking as it made a noticeable difference to power!
Replaced with an original Scooby that the dealer told me cut the AC automatically when you applied WOT.
One of my cuurent cars doesn't have it, don't miss it most of the time to be honest.
Replaced with an original Scooby that the dealer told me cut the AC automatically when you applied WOT.
One of my cuurent cars doesn't have it, don't miss it most of the time to be honest.
My first car with a/c (climate control) was a 2002 Mondeo Ghia, but my first encounter was in taxis in Tokyo where the a/c was an add-on mounted under the dash on the passenger's side. Labelled Nippon Denso it froze the nuts off the poor passenger while the cab driver sat in relative comfort.
My first memory is probably that of my dad having a mid-90s Citroen ZX with AC, and I remember it routinely pissing its water (condensation) all over the passenger footwell 
Only my first car (Fiat Cinquecento) didn't have it. The rest did, and now I wouldn't want a car without climate control, let alone AC.
Only my first car (Fiat Cinquecento) didn't have it. The rest did, and now I wouldn't want a car without climate control, let alone AC.
Ah yes, that's one of the things that breaks on a shed and costs more than the thing's worth to repair.
The current shed jasn't had it since I bought it, I thought a simple regas would fix it, as did the AC tech, but it's dead. Ho hum. I'll get a car with clim next time out. For both days we need it in the UK.
The current shed jasn't had it since I bought it, I thought a simple regas would fix it, as did the AC tech, but it's dead. Ho hum. I'll get a car with clim next time out. For both days we need it in the UK.
First memory was my Dads 1978 BMW 728i, that was 'just' aircon. 1981 he bought a 635i with 'Climate Control'. I also remember my uncle had an XJ40, late 80's iirc, that didn't have but according to him the sunroof 'was just as good'...... Really? Pretty sure he went on to buy a Range Rover without it too. Tightwad!
I had 2 Granada Scorpios with it then bought a CDX Carlton that didn't have it, gutted. At some point I had a 24v Senator & it stopped working because the A/C pipe work got a hole in somewhere, very expensive fix too!
As regard OP asking if Rolls Royce fitted it as standard, I know the first Shadow I ever drove, 1972 Shadow 1, had it because the compressor was so noisy, but I think earlier models, Silver Cloud, Bentley S, it was extra. I remember the brochure for the Shadow claimed the system had the output of a great many domestic fridges!
Oh how times have changed, even my 03 shed Astra has it & it works perfectly.
Not quite on topic but I remember seeing a used car site, probably 1970's, with cars on a forecourt with windscreens full of stickers proclaiming 'extras' like Heater. HRW. Passenger door mirror. Tinted glass & Hazard warning lights!!
I had 2 Granada Scorpios with it then bought a CDX Carlton that didn't have it, gutted. At some point I had a 24v Senator & it stopped working because the A/C pipe work got a hole in somewhere, very expensive fix too!
As regard OP asking if Rolls Royce fitted it as standard, I know the first Shadow I ever drove, 1972 Shadow 1, had it because the compressor was so noisy, but I think earlier models, Silver Cloud, Bentley S, it was extra. I remember the brochure for the Shadow claimed the system had the output of a great many domestic fridges!
Oh how times have changed, even my 03 shed Astra has it & it works perfectly.
Not quite on topic but I remember seeing a used car site, probably 1970's, with cars on a forecourt with windscreens full of stickers proclaiming 'extras' like Heater. HRW. Passenger door mirror. Tinted glass & Hazard warning lights!!
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