The untold history of automobile air conditioning; how a group of Texas pioneer companies, such as: A.R.A., Mark IV and Frigikar, gave sweaty, southern drivers what they could not get from Detroit – a cool, comfortable ride. It took eight years after the close of World War II for Detroit to come out with factory air. It took only two years for these three Texas companies to enter the market, and by 1953 has installed over 10,000 after-market (add-on) units. These three gave birth to an industrial cluster, in and around Dallas and Fort Worth, that at one time included over 30 manufacturers, service companies and suppliers. The activity of this cluster continued for five decades, against Detroit’s promise to bury them in five years, peaked around 1995 with shipments of over1.3 million units, and is still active. Dallas and Fort Worth is home for world-class companies in the auto air conditioning field such as Sanden, A.R.A, 4-Seasons and Victory Climate Systems; all of whom can trace their lineage back to the original three. This book is not a ‘How to Do It’ book. It is an entertaining story about dedicated pioneering ‘Davids’ battling the Detroit ‘Goliath’ with a strange mix of collaboration, camaraderie and competition. 166 pages, 129 photos and illustrations., ISBN13: 9781481194068 ISBN10: 1481194062 Material Type: paperback

Barclay, Rod