Re: IML: Imperials rear defrost vs. the "Competition" in '71

[Christopher Hoffman <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Actually the Germans and other European makes had these in the late 1960s.
It did take the domestics a while to offer them, but Ford had them on the
Lincoln Mark III by 1969 (blower types cost about $25 and were called
defoggers, electric-heating types were about $85 and were called
defrosters). GM got on board with electric defrosters by 1974 or so, and
Chrysler lollygagged until 1976, I believe, which means the first year an
Imperial offered the electric type would be 1981 (NYBs offered them in 1976,
though). (Note: I believe the Japan-built Dodge Colt had one sooner, meaning
that part of Bill's story is true for Mother Mopar!)

It's interesting that the domestics put automatic shutoff timers on them
from the beginning, since the electrical grids do consume an enormous amount
of energy (and this was the day when alternators rarely output more than
50-65 amps). The Japanese and European brands required you to turn the thing
off after the window was clear or risk draining the battery while you drive
(nice in winter). 

They were nearly all made from copper wires applied on the inside surface of
the glass, and most still are; port-installed optional versions added to
Japanese cars typically involved replacing the rear window, not painting
copper lines on the existing glass, but nonetheless they were often quite
fragile if you wiped the inside rear window vigorously. One exception was
some high-end luxury cars (Rolls-Royce and top-line MBs, for example), which
used nearly invisible wires running vertically inside the glass by 1970 or
so. Not only were they more durable, they also cleared faster and didn't
obstruct rear vision as much as the sometimes rather thick early copper
wires did.

The one on my '78 New Yorker (a required option with the Salon Package and
redundantly named "electrically heated rear window defroster" in the
brochure, probably to hit home the point that defoggers merely blew air and
defrosters actually generated heat) still does a great job, and still turns
off after 20 minutes (or so... can't have a Swiss-certified Chronometer on
everything!).

Trivia: While there are virtually no cars left today without electric
defrosters as standard (a fairly recent occurrence), one state in the union
actually requires them by law on all passenger cars: New York.

-- 
Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon


On 3/5/05 10:55 AM, Wm. R. Ulman (twolaneblacktop@xxxxxxxxxxx) wrote:

> In comes a Toyota with a major improvement to the rear
> defrost issue, head and shoulders above the blower system held over from
> the, what, 50's in at least Chrysler products?



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