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Air Conditioning in Cars The first car with an actual refrigeration system was the 1940 model year Packard.
Brakes In 1901, British inventor Frederick William Lanchester patented disc brakes.
Car Radio In 1929, American Paul Galvin, the head of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, invented the first car radio. The first car radios were not available from carmakers. Consumers had to purchase the radios separately. Galvin coined the name "Motorola" for the company's new products combining the idea of motion and radio.
Driveshaft In 1898, Louis Renault invented the first driveshaft.
Electric Windows Daimler introduced electric windows in cars in 1948.
Fender In 1901, Frederick Simms invented the first car fender. Similar to the railway engine buffers of the period.
Fuel Injection The first electronic fuel injection system for cars was invented in 1966 in Britain.
License Plates On April 25, 1901 the state of New York became the first state to require car license plates by law. The very first license plates were called number plates - first issued in 1893 in France by the police.
Supercharger Ferdinand Porsche invented the first supercharged Mercedes-Benz SS & SSK sports cars in Stuttgart, Germany in 1923.
Third Brake Light In 1974, psychologist John Voevodsky invented the third brake light, a brake light that is mounted in the base of rear windshields. When drivers press their brakes, a triangle of light will warn following drivers to slow down.
Transmissions In 1832, W. H. James invented a rudimentary three-speed transmission. Panhard and Levassor are credited with the invention of the modern transmission - installed in their 1895 Panhard. On April 28, 1908, Leonard Dyer obtained one of the earliest patents for an automobile transmission.
Turn Signals Buick introduced the first electric turn signals in 1938.
Power Steering Francis W. Davis invented power steering. In the 1920s, Davis was the chief engineer of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, and he saw first hand how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. Davis quit his job and rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, MA. He developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering. Power steering became commercially available by 1951.
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