Air conditioning is one of those bits of equipment that has become a forgone conclusion in modern cars, especially in a Cadillac. The first attempt at artificially cooling the air inside a motor vehicle came as early as 1884, when William Whitely came up with the “All-Weather Eye”, which utilized fans attached to a horse-drawn carriage’s axles blowing air across trays filled with ice, venting the cooled air into the carriage. The system was less than practical, as it required hundreds of pounds of ice per hour to function.
Practical auto air conditioning as we know it first became available from Cadillac for the 1953 model year. The Frigidaire system could also be had on Buick and Oldsmobile models, but was much more common on Cadillac models. It was available either as a factory option or as a dealer-installed extra. Adding A/C to your Caddy cost over $600 then, or around $6,000 now.
A dead giveaway to tell if a 1950s or 1960s Cadillac sedan had air conditioning was the fresh air intake vents located just aft of the C-pillars on the rear deck. This is where air entered, inducted by twin fans mounted in the trunk. It was then cooled and dehydrated by the evaporator. One of the downsides of the trunk-mounted system was it could only be adjusted by a knob on the rear parcel shelf, not by the driver.
Rather than having the trunk-mounted unit blasting air straight out of the parcel shelf, Cadillac routed the cold air to ceiling mounted vents above the rear seat. This allowed for better air distribution in the passenger compartment as well. In order to move the air without obstructing rearward vision, the vent tubes were made of clear Plexiglas. One downside to the ceiling vents was they tended to produce condensation, which sometimes dripped on to rear-seat passengers.
General Motors’ Harrison Radiator Division figured out how to move the air conditioning systems to the engine compartment, freeing up space in the trunk and allowing the driver to control the system. In 1956, the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham became the first car to offer air conditioning as standard equipment.
In 1964, Cadillac introduced Comfort Control, which allowed some of the air to be channeled forward to the heater core. This meant greater control regulating air temperature. By mixing hot and cold air, Comfort Control allowed air to be delivered at a specific temperature, not unlike current automatic climate control systems.
The fresh air vents on the exterior were featured on Cadillacs from 1953 to 1971, at which time they were phased out.
By 1969, more than half the new cars sold in the U.S. were equipped with optional A/C. As of 1977, Cadillac was still the only General Motors marque that offered air conditioning as standard equipment. It almost goes without saying that today, all Cadillac models feature air conditioning as standard, and all models offer ventilated and heated seats as well.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
Ahh…the era when Cadillac meant swagger and America was America. GM was king of the Hill. Cadillacs were called ” Hogs ” and they were head turners. What a terrific bygone era.
What ’71 Cadillacs, much less, 1960s to 1971 Cadillacs, still had those rear deck air scoops? My dad’s ’69 DeVille sure didn’t have them! Are you referring to the stretched wheelbase limos maybe?
Generally these systems were in Fleetwood limos that had a second system in the back in the truck.
Early Cadillac had them in the trunk not be cause Cadillac was so epic but because the systems were large.
I believe that the first American car with air conditioning as standard equipment was the 1968 AMC Ambassador.
That, and factory air was introduced by Packard before WWII.
Although limited production, the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was a production car, and had a/c standard.
O ther than limo models the Cadillac a/c became a front unit in 1957 with dash mount outlets replacing four a/c headliner outlets above outside front and rear passengers. DeSoto and Packard offered a/c around 1940-41 but was less than an ideal system. Nash started a/c with a low cost dash mounted system around 1953 that worked very well. FORD equipped many models with under dash unit a/c, with Lincolns through 1957 having rear mount a/c. Chrysler Corp had rear mount a/c in two versions fresh air that was factory, and recirculating unit that could be factory or dealer installed that did not have rear scoops through 1956, these had multiple directional rear shelf vents, in 1957 the a/c was in dash, but rear a/c could be added to station wagons or Imperials. After market underdash a/c could be added to nearly any car from a variety of companies. one of the best, A-R-A from Texas had front or rear units that looked factory. today several a/c companies offer factory looking dash units for any car.
The only Cadillac’s I remember seeing with the rear trunk air scoops were the early to mid 50s models. I don’t recall any on the 59 models or forward. Maybe the limos were different, but that 66 model looks custom.
The Seventy Five sedan and Limousine had dual systems, and used the rear air scoops to feed the trunk-mounted rear system.
Who didn’t have a Frigidaire refrigerator at one time?
Frigidaire was a subsidiary of GM until 1978.
It was also the brand name found on their auto AC units. Those disc-driven piston compressors that resembled a generator with a case of the gout, were labeled Frigidaire.
GM had all kinds of brand/divisions that turned up across their entire line.
Harrison for radiators and heater cores
Ternstedt for electric windows and seat mechanisms
Guide: all of the various lenses
Delco Remy: virtually everything electrical.
Fisher Body. GM had bought out a custom coach builder with that name and it eventually became the division for the basic body constructions of various GM cars.
HydraMatic: the division that built automatic transmissions for virtually everything but Chevrolet. For all I know, it may even have been HM that made the PowerGlide and TurboGlide, but I don’t know.
Makes me wonder if any of the earlier A/C units were trouble prone and high maintenance back in the day?
Interesting read.
Yes. Seals were an issue. The owner manuals clearly stated that one should run the AC for a few minutes every two weeks to keep the seals happy.
I owned a 1956 Sedan Deville through the early 1970’s, and commuted to work 90 miles each way. The a/c was indeed “freeze out”— it did have separate blower controls for the two blowers under the dash, as well as a large slider temperature control. Forced chilled air came through the ceiling vents, which were of metal and each vent had two small vent doors and a swivel, similar to a modern passenger jet’s overhead swivel to direct the cold air flow. I vividly recall on hot, humid days, I used a towel over my left shoulder to absorb the condensate drip on my blazer jacket…. additionally, the side windows would sometimes fog up. The trunk mounted evaporator was very large… as mentioned in the above article, fresh air came from the outside rear scoops, but not mentiomed, recycled air came from under the rear seats. This was a large, wonderful highway cruiser, with tire pressures recommended in the low 20 psi. One floated down the road, sitting of a wonderfully comfortable sofa.
Cadillac wasn’t the only GM product with scoops. My father had a ’53 Roadmaster with A/C and scoops. The Frigidaire unit in the trunk left very little room for any luggage.