Automakers have always invested heavily in creating the most comfortable driving experience possible, and GM is certainly no exception. Whether it’s five-zone automatic climate control, heated and ventilated seats, or any other of the countless temperature-regulating features, achieving that ideal comfort level is a big deal in today’s vehicles. But around a quarter century ago, General Motors made the decision to delete a certain comfort feature affectionately known among enthusiasts as the “crotch cooler.” Some folks would certainly like to see it make a comeback.
For those unfamiliar, GM’s “crotch cooler” vents were once equipped by many full-size pickups and SUVs produced before the year 2000. Models like the Chevy Blazer, GMC Jimmy, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade, as well as the Chevy and GMC C/K pickups, all included this vent. Strategically placed beneath the dash and aimed at the lower body, these rectangular air ports provided targeted cooling, making them a hot commodity on those sweltering summer days.
However, as General Motors moved into the new millennium, these vents quietly disappeared. With the introduction of the second-generation 2000 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, second-gen 2000 GMC Yukon, second-gen 2001 Cadillac Escalade, and first-gen 1999 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, the crotch cooler vent was no longer part of the cabin design. The Chevy Blazer and GMC Jimmy soldiered on, but were retired for the 2005 model year.
So why did General Motors decide to ditch the crotch cooler? While there’s no definitive answer, it’s likely that advancements in overall climate control systems made these specific vents unnecessary. As climate control technology evolved to offer more precise and efficient cooling for the entire cabin, GM may have determined that the crotch cooler was redundant or simply not in demand.
However, for those who fondly remember this feature, its absence is noticeable. With modern vehicles offering features like cooled seats and individual-zone climate control, the crotch cooler may seem outdated, but it still holds a place in the hearts of many General Motors truck fans.
Would you like to see this quirky feature make a return in modern General Motors vehicles? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments
I want my crotch cooled, and I want it now!
So that’s your story…not “I was swimming all morning”. LOL
Little swimmers who get too hot can die. This is part of a plot to demasculinize America! BRING IT BACK!
BI Level advancements killed it. It did the same thing for less money,
GM also had these in the cars starting around 1970.
My 1976 Monte Carlo had a 400 ci. small block, and an air conditioning system that could frost the windows, along with the crotch cooler vent, it worked great, I loved it.
Back then a lot of vehicles had vinyl seats.
That little vent has got to be much cheaper than air conditioning a seat.
Cheaper for GM to make but the seat is more profitable to them.
The seats are a different thing. It cools the back side with just blowing air they are not AC seats.m
I suspect they went for space. Dashes are not as deep as they used to be, and space for ductwork shrunk. My parent’s cars in the 60’s/70’s had bigger vents too. And seems like they had more of them as well.
I always thought with the introduction of ventilated seats these became irrelevant. The seats can now directly cool your gonads and prevent swamp a** in the summer time more efficiently.
Cool seats came much later. They did not replace the vents.
Blended air high and low came in in the early 70’s. These vents really did not flow much anyways.
The ducts were just on the bottom of the dash so they were small and flat.
These were not just on trucks/SUV’s. GM had these on many (most) cars going way back into the 70’s I think. I know many of the cars my family owned had them and they were great.
I wouldn’t say that all climate control systems have gotten better over the years. Where I work with both Volvo and Mazda, I can tell you that Mazda’s vents suck. The worst of them is the CX30 and CX50’s. Bad placement, small and just can’t do the job like many of the older cars could. The Volvo’s system is better, but what is so bad there is that the entire climate control system is hidden within the screen. When it’s sweltering hot and you start the vehicles, it can take up to 35 to 45 seconds to get the system blowing. And that’s if the person left the climate turned on. If they turned it off, it can take up to a full minute for the screen to wake up and be able to pull up the climate settings to turn it back on. Bad design.
So my vote is bring these crotch vents back and keep the climate system simple.
We old guys remember when GM cars had them too, maybe as early as 1969.
it was a cost cutter. The almighty $$$ dictates what goes and what stays. CEO at the time wanted a bigger bottom line, and they did stuff like this to make it happen.
While we are at it, can we get those triangular vent windows back? They were the best. Simple and very effective. You could easily direct a blast of air wherever you want it.
Wing vents, they were great.
They also had floor vents that opened up to keep your feet cool with outside air. On pickup trucks there was a pull out lever down by the parking brake release.
Yeah, I remember those in my old pickups. They let in a lot of air and kick up dust off of those rubber mat floors. The good old days?
I’ve been praying to the vent GODS to bring those triangular window vents and the floor vents back going on 40 years now! And while we’re at it, how about the floor push button for the high beams that you activate with your foot !
Isn’t this vent back in the GMC Sierra EV?
Knee bolster air bags take up that space now.
The best vents I have used of late are in my son’s Blazer. Big round very controllable.
Then they have temp control in the rim of each.
I believe these were on the cars first, starting in the late 60s and anyone can feel free to correct me on the dates. Our last GM to have them was an ‘84 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham. One of the first things I noticed wasn’t on its replacement, a ‘91 Cadillac Brougham d’Elegance. BUT, can we talk about the a/c systems on all the older GMs?? The first car I remember is a ‘73 Caprice Classic with Comfortron. She kept it set to 75 year round, and even with a black interior it was frigid even on 100^+ summer days. Not that today’s systems are bad, but the older systems cooled faster/better.
Yup, pretty sure I had that low steering column vent in my 69 BelAire.
The newer, environmentally-friendly refrigerants are not as efficient.
My Dad’s 66 Plymouth Fury had metal air vents. It cooled so well that the metal vents would get condensation on them! THAT was a system that WORKED!
A crotch needs to be warm for best performance, not cold.
A feature I truly miss is the dual sun visors I had in my 2003 Yukon! I loved not having to keep moving the sun visor at certain times of day when the sun would hang out around the A-pillar. Those dual visors were so much better than the standard single visors. But I would like to see these crotch coolers come back too. Pretty sure my ‘86 Z-28 had one, as well as another car I had.
I had this vent in my 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442.