Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle.
Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle.
Packard had introduced hydraulic window lifts (power windows) in fall of 1940, for its new 1941 Packard 180 series cars. [1] [2] This was a hydro-electric system. In 1941, the Ford Motor Company followed with the first power windows on the Lincoln Custom (only the limousine and seven-passenger sedans). [3] 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 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 Corporation vehicles, particularly the low-cost Plymouth convertibles in the late 1930s.
Shortly before World War II, General Motors developed a central hydraulic pump for working convertible tops. [4] 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". [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] The electrically operated hydraulic pump system was shared by Hudson and Packard for their 1948 through 1950 models. The driver's door contained four buttons in addition to the remaining individual windows. [8]
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 and Lincoln by 1951. [9] These systems were used by other luxury car models (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. [9] 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 "Airflyte" models featured optional power windows. [10]
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, Volvo, Mazda and Holden have used switches located in the 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.
Power windows are usually inoperable when the car is not running. This is primarily a security feature. It would be a simple thing to allow electric power windows to be operable when the ignition is turned off, however it would also make the car much easier to steal. Some systems offer the compromise of leaving power applied to the windows until a passenger door is opened at which time the window power is removed.
Hydraulic drive systems could lower the windows at rest, since pressure from the hydraulic system was merely released to lower the window. Raising the windows required an electrically operated pump to operate and introduce pressure at the appropriate cylinder. These systems also required pressure lines to each cylinder (in the doors, as well as on certain cars, to the power seat and a power operated convertible top). Because of the complexity, the system could also leak fluid.
Many modern cars have a time delay feature, first introduced by Cadillac in the 1980s, called "retained accessory power". This allows operation of the windows and some other accessories for ten minutes or so after the engine is stopped. Another feature is the "express-down" window, which allows the window to be fully lowered with one tap on the switch, as opposed to holding the switch down until the window retracts. Many luxury vehicles during the 1990s expanded on this feature, to include "express-up" on the driver's window, and recently, some manufacturers have added the feature on all window switches for all passengers' convenience. This is done by activating the switch until a "click" response is felt.
Power windows have become so common that by 2008, some automakers eliminated hand crank windows from all their models. So many vehicles now have power windows that some people no longer understand the (formerly) common sign from another driver of using their hand to simulate moving a window crank to indicate that they wish to speak with someone when stopped at a light or in a parking lot. The 2008 Audi RS4 sold in Europe, however, still has roll-up windows for the rear doors although its counterpart sold in the U.S. has power windows for all doors. [11]
Power windows have come under some scrutiny after several fatal accidents in which children's necks have become trapped, leading to suffocation. Some designs place the switch in a location on a hand rest where it can be accidentally triggered by a child climbing to place his or her head out of the window. To prevent this, many vehicles feature a driver-controlled lockout switch, preventing rear-seat passengers (usually smaller children) from accidentally triggering the switches. This also prevents children from playing with them and pets riding with their heads out windows from activating the power window switch.
A power window lockout switch is a popular convenience that allows the driver to prevent passengers, usually children, from using the windows. Many cars have a feature called "courtesy power on" which allows the windows to remain operational for a brief period after the key is taken out of the ignition, so that adjustments can be made without putting the key back in. Additionally, some vehicles offer the option to operate the windows from outside the car using a remote. [12]
Starting with the 2008 model year, U.S. government regulations required automakers to install safety mechanisms to improve child safety. [13] However, the rules do not prevent all potential injuries to a hand, finger, or even a child's head, if someone deliberately holds the switch when the window is closing. In 2009, the U.S. auto safety administration tentatively decided against requiring all cars to have automatic reversing power windows if they sense an obstruction while closing. [14] Proposed requirements concern automatic ("one-touch up") window systems, but most vehicles with this feature already have automatic-reversing. [15] The federal government made a written contract that all automakers should make the lever switches (as opposed to the rocker and toggle switches) standard on all new vehicles by 1 October 2010. [16]
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles in the United States.
Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable.
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The Pontiac G6 is a mid-size car that was produced by General Motors under the Pontiac brand. It was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year to replace the Grand Am.
The Seville was manufactured by Cadillac from 1975 to 2004 as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004.
The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car that was marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year.
LaSalle was an American brand of luxury automobiles manufactured and marketed, as a separate brand, by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. Alfred P. Sloan, GM's Chairman of the Board, developed the concept for four new GM marques - LaSalle, Marquette, Viking and Pontiac - paired with already established brands to fill price gaps he perceived in the General Motors product portfolio. Sloan created LaSalle as a companion marque for Cadillac. LaSalle automobiles were manufactured by Cadillac, but were priced lower than Cadillac-branded automobiles, were shorter, and were marketed as the second-most prestigious marque in the General Motors portfolio. LaSalles were titled as LaSalles, and not as Cadillacs. Like Cadillac — named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac — the LaSalle brand name was based on that of another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
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The Oldsmobile 98 is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1942, and then from 1946 to 1996. The name – reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine – first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Eighty Eight-based Regency replaced the 98 in 1997.
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The Buick Limited was Buick's flagship model line between 1936 and 1942, and, in celebration of GM's Fiftieth Anniversary, a single-year halo car for the Division in model year 1958. Since the 1960s Buick has intermittently used the term "Limited" as a designation denoting its highest level of trim and standard features in its various model ranges.
The Buick Super is a full-sized automobile produced by Buick from 1940 through the 1958 model years, with a brief hiatus from 1943 through 1945. The first generation shared the longer wheelbase with the top level Roadmaster while offering the smaller displacement engine from the Buick Special. The Super prioritized passenger comfort over engine performance. For several years, it was called the "Buick Eight" or "Super Eight" due to the engravement on the grille while all Buick's since 1931 were all installed with the Buick Straight-8 engine with varying engine displacement.
The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specifically as a DeVille was the 2005 full-size sedan, at the time, Cadillac's largest model.
The Opel Cascada is a four-passenger fabric-roof convertible, manufactured and marketed by Opel across a single generation for model years 2013-2019, prioritizing year-round touring comfort over sportiness.
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