Auto News 5

The Up!, Volkswagen's ambitious new minicar, has not been earmarked for North-America. But in the most recent planning round, we find the E-Up!, also known as NSF BEV (New Small Family, Battery Electric Vehicle), scheduled to hit select U.S. cities for 2013. Technology and range are still to be determined, but the concept E-Up!, which debuted at last fall's Frankfurt auto show, featured a 60 kilowatt-hour electric motor and could go a distance of about 80 miles, per Volkswagen claims.

• The 1940 Packard was the first car to offer factory-installed air-conditioning.
• By 1969, more than half of all new cars sold were equipped with A/C.
• Some brands affixed window decals to promote their air-conditioned automobiles.
• For cars not equipped with factory air, dealer-installed, under-dash units were popular.
• In a 1971 front-page story, the New York Times implicated air-conditioning in the death of the convertible, postulating that: "In the age of air-conditioning, real air has lost its value."
• After the freon used in A/C units was blamed for depleting the ozone layer, automakers were required to switch from R12 to the less harmful R134a refrigerant by 1996.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control allows for separate temperature settings for driver and passenger; some cars have additional zones for rear-seat passengers.
• Volkswagen calls its manual air-conditioning system "Climatic;" automatic A/C is "Climatronic."
• Today, more than 99 percent of all new cars are air-conditioned.
• There's no A/C in base versions of the Chevrolet Aveo; Honda Civic; Hyundai Accent and Elantra; Jeep Wrangler; Kia Forte and Rio; Mazda 3; Mitsubishi Lancer; Nissan Versa; and Toyota Tacoma.
• Testing by Consumer Reports found that using a car's air-conditioner resulted in a more than 3-mpg loss at highway speeds. Driving with the windows open had no measurable effect on fuel economy.