I loved Packards. A 1955 Packard Caribbean like the one above was the
first car I ever saw that used the color scheme that was so wildly popular
at the time --- pink and black. And the car's styling was stunning.
Automobile air conditioning
History
A company in New York City in the United States first offered installation of air conditioning for cars in 1933. Most of their customers operated limousines and luxury cars.[1]
In 1939, Packard became the first automobile manufacturer to offer an air conditioning unit in its cars.[2] These were manufactured by Bishop and Babcock Co, of Cleveland, Ohio.
The “Bishop and Babcock Weather Conditioner” also incorporated a heater. Cars ordered with the new “Weather Conditioner” were shipped from Packard’s East Grand Boulevard facility to the B&B factory where the conversion was performed. Once complete, the car was shipped to a local dealer where the customer would take delivery.
Packard fully warranted and supported this conversion, and marketed it well. However, it was not commercially successful for a number of reasons:
The main evaporator and blower system took up half of the trunk space (though this became less of a problem as trunks became larger in the post-war period).
It was superseded by more efficient systems in the post-war years.
It had no temperature thermostat or shut-off mechanism other than switching the blower off. (Cold air would still sometimes enter the car with any movement as the drive belt was continuously connected to the compressor—later systems would use electrically operated clutches to remedy this problem.)
The several feet of plumbing going back and forth between the engine compartment and trunk proved unreliable in service.
The price, at US $274 ($4,692.12 in 2014 US dollars), was unaffordable to most people in post-depression/pre-war America.
The option was discontinued after 1941.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_conditioning#History