Air conditioning, which was once a great luxury, is now a common feature on most motor vehicles.
The timing couldn't have been worse: The Packard Motor Company introduced the first built-in, factory-installed air conditioning in its models in 1939, not long before the United States entered World War II, a time that called for thrift and sacrifice, not the extravagance of chilled air. It didn't help that the optional feature was a gargantuan device that filled half of the trunk and cost more than $4,000 in today's dollars. Packard dropped the feature in 1941. Even after the war, air conditioning was an expensive luxury item, reappearing in the 1950's, and only becoming popular in warmer climates. Today, climate control is a given, and comes standard in some 99 percent of new vehicles.
Source: Internet
