Packard launches first factory‑installed car air‑conditioning system

In 1940 the Packard Motor Car Company became the first U.S. automaker to offer air‑conditioning as a factory‑installed option on a production vehicle. The system, developed by Bishop & Babcock Manufacturing Company, used DuPont’s R‑12 (Freon‑12) refrigerant, cost US$275‑310, and occupied space behind the rear seat, limiting early adoption. By the 1950s the technology spread, and by 1970 roughly half of new U.S. cars featured air‑conditioning.

Decades later the original refrigerant was phased out because R‑12 damaged the ozone layer. It was replaced in the 1990s by R‑134a, a hydrofluorocarbon that avoided ozone depletion but proved to be a persistent “forever chemical” (PFAS) and a potent greenhouse gas. The European Union banned R‑134a in new cars in 2017. The current standard, R‑1234yf, lowers global‑warming impact, yet a 2026 study showed it degrades in the atmosphere into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), another persistent compound linked to health concerns.