Editing Power window (section)

== History ==
[[File:Inside Buick drivers door showing hydraulic power window lift.jpg|thumb|right|Inside driver's door showing [[hydraulic cylinder]] for power window]]
[[File:Ignition between seats rotated.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Window controls on center console between front seats (2005 [[Saab 9-5]]) ]]

A small number of cars in the 1920s, such as the 1925 Flint Model E-55, featured an early form of "automatic windows" which used a fully mechanical, spring loaded system to raise the windows.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/its-a-flint-1925-flint-model-e-55/ |title= It's a Flint! – 1925 Flint Model E-55 |publisher=Hemmings.com |date=27 August 2024 |author=Matt Litwin |access-date=18 May 2025 }}</ref> [[Packard]] introduced hydraulic window lifts (power windows) in fall of 1940, for its new 1941 [[Packard 180]] series cars.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ward |first=James Arthur |title=The Fall of Packard Motor Car Company |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8047-2457-9 }}</ref><ref>1941 Packard Super 8 series 180 Sales Brochure, page 2</ref> This was a hydraulic-electric system, called "Hydro-Electric" by Packard. In 1941, the [[Ford Motor Company]] followed with the first power windows on the [[Lincoln Custom]] (only the limousine and seven-passenger sedans).<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2008/08/01/hmn_feature9.html |last=Donelly |first=Jim |title=Needing a Lift, (Maybe) Finding It|journal=Hemmings Classic Car |date=August 2008 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref> [[Cadillac]] had a straight-electric divider window (but not side windows) on their series 75.

Power assists originated in the need and desire to move [[convertible (car)|convertible]] body-style tops up and down by some means other than human effort. The earliest power assists were vacuum-operated and were offered on [[Chrysler|Chrysler Corporation]] vehicles, particularly the low-cost [[Plymouth (automobile)|Plymouth]] convertibles in the late 1930s. 

Shortly before World War II, [[General Motors]] developed a central hydraulic pump for working convertible tops.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Collectible Automobile |title= GM convertible windows powered up <!-- user created title -->|date=June 2008 |page=14}}</ref> This system was introduced on 1942 convertibles built by GM. Previously, GM had used a vacuum system which did not have the power to handle increasingly larger and complex (four side-windows vs. only two) convertible top mechanisms. 

Chief Engineer of the [[Buick]] Division, Charles A. Chayne, "...had introduced an electrically controlled hydraulic system into the 1946 Buick convertibles that provided fingertip operation of the top, door windows, and front seat adjustment".<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Collectible Automobile |title= Buick adds electrically controlled hydraulic systems<!-- user created title --> |date=April 2010 |page=48 }}</ref> These systems were based on major hydraulic advances made in military weapons in preparation for World War II. 

The "Hydro-Electric" system (windows, front seat adjustment and convertible top) was standard on 1947 model year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1947-cadillac-series-62-convertible.htm |title=1947 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible |publisher=HowStuffWorks com |date=8 October 2007 |access-date=5 July 2010 |archive-date=20 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220062049/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1947-cadillac-series-62-convertible.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The seat and window assist system became available on GM closed cars (standard on some Cadillac Series 75 models and all Series 60 Specials, commonly called "Fleetwood" beginning with the 1948). The full system was standard only on the high-end GM convertibles made by [[Oldsmobile]], Buick, and Cadillac. It was only available as a package; that is, power assisted windows, front seat, and convertible top (where applicable). This feature can be identified in 1948 and later General Motors model numbers with an "X" at the end, such as the 1951 Cadillac Sixty Special sedan, model 6019X.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hendry |first=Maurice |title=Cadillac, The Complete History |year=1975 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780517422816 }}</ref> The electrically operated hydraulic pump system was shared by [[Hudson Motor Car Company|Hudson]] and Packard for their 1948 through 1950 models. The driver's door contained four buttons in addition to the remaining individual windows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Hudson/1949_Hudson/1949_Hudson_Owners_Manual/1949%20Hudson%20Owners%20Manual-69.html |title=1949 Hudson Owners Manual |page=67 |publisher=www.oldcarbrochures.com |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref>

Ford also had a similar electro-hydraulic system on higher-end convertibles. Mercury and Ford Sportsman convertibles (with wood trim) were equipped with power windows on four windows from 1946 through 1948 and [[Mercury (automobile)|Mercury]] and [[Lincoln (automobile)|Lincoln]] by 1951.<ref name="hemmings-01-2009">{{cite journal|url=http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2009/01/01/hmn_feature5.html |first=Jim |last=Donnelly |title=A Cut Above |journal=Hemmings Classic Car |date=January 2009 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref> These systems were used by other luxury car models ([[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]] and Packard) until Chrysler introduced the all-electric operation on the 1951 Imperial. The availability of power windows increased with the use of small, high-torque electric motors.<ref name="hemmings-01-2009"/> General Motors also followed with full electric operation in 1954. This included four-way and then six-way seats, which were introduced in 1956. Chevrolet introduced the oddity of power front windows (only) in the 1954 model. Ford also introduced full four-door power windows in sedans in 1954. The full-sized 1955 [[Nash Motors|Nash]] "Airflyte" models featured optional power windows.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4lUEAAAAMBAJ&q=Nash+power+windows&pg=PA93 |title=Nash steals march in 'dream cars'  |magazine=Life |page=93 |date=18 April 1955 |volume=38 |issue=16 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref>

Electrically-operated vent windows were available as early as 1956 on the [[Continental Mark II]]. The 1960s [[Cadillac Fleetwood]] came standard with power front and rear vent windows, in addition to standard power side windows, for a total of eight power window controls on the driver's door panel. 

Modern heavy-duty highway tractors frequently have an option for power window controls; however, these are generally what is referred to as "straight air". That is, the compressed air system used for air brakes is also used for the windows. These types of trucks have long used compressed air cylinders for seat height adjustment. In a similar fashion to the electro-hydraulic system, the compressed air is merely released to lower the window and/or seat. The compressed air is then admitted to the respective cylinder to raise the window or seat. 

In a typical auto/light truck installation, there is an individual switch at each window and a set of switches in the driver's door or a-frame pillar, so the driver can operate all the windows. These switches took on many different appearances, from heavy chrome plate to inexpensive plastic. 

However, some models like [[Saab Automobile|Saab]], [[Volvo]], [[Mazda]] and [[Holden]] have used switches located in the [[center console (automobile)|center console]], where they are accessible to all the occupants. In this case, the door-mounted switches can be omitted. This also removes the need to produce separate door components and wiring for left and right-hand drive variants.