Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by depressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a hand-turned crank handle.
James Arthur Ward in his book, The Fall of Packard Motor Car Company states that Packard introduced the first power windows (along with automotive air-conditioning systems) in the 1940 Packard 180 series. This was a hydro-electric system and does not appear to have included power seats. In 1941, the Ford Motor Company followed quickly with power windows on the Lincoln Custom (only the limousine and seven-passenger sedans). Cadillac had a straight-electric divider window (but not side windows) on their series 75 limousines immediately prior to World War II.
Many advertisements use the term electric or power window “lifts” (somewhat more English) rather than merely power windows or power window assists.
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. 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.
Individual for front bench seats were introduced after WWII. All of these systems were based on major hydraulic advances made in military weapons (tanks, aircraft) in prepartion for World War II. The full Hydro-Lectric system (windows, front seat adjustment and convertible top) appeared in either the 1946 or 1947 model year . The seat and window assists were optional on closed cars (standard on some Cadillac Series 75 models). 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). It 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 .
