While air conditioning is standard equipment on all street-legal new cars sold in the U.S. these days, it really wasn’t all that long ago that A/C was optional on certain car models. As recently as 2022, 2-door versions of the Jeep Wrangler could be had with an option called “Air Conditioning Bypass,” which deleted the off-roader’s A/C in exchange for a $1395 credit on the window sticker.
Air Conditioning
And, as recently as 2017, air conditioning—“ice” we called it back when this author was selling cars a few decades ago—was optional ($1300) on certain trim levels of the Nissan Frontier. But, for the most part, “ice” has been standard equipment on new vehicles since the Nineties.
But go back far enough, say 55-56 years ago, and you’ll find that not only was air conditioning not standard on most cars, it was also a rather pricey option. So, discounted A/C was certainly worth knowing about.
Cheap “Ice”
This 1970 Dodge ad featuring the full-size Polara Custom hardtop sedan, is promoting just such a discount. Apparently shoppers willing to purchase a Polara equipped as described in the ad, could be ad with $218.70 discount, or, roughly half the regular price of the optional air conditioning. That’s a pretty specific amount, and strangely slightly more than half the price of the A/C option ($418.30), but who are we to look a gift air conditioner in dash vent?
The features found on the specially equipped Polara models constitute a pretty innocuous list of standard-fare equipment, except for maybe the radio and vinyl roof, but with the air, the Polara becomes a pretty nicely equipped vehicle.
Polara Custom and Monaco
Per the ad, this cheap-air deal was offered on the Polara Custom as well as the more-premium full-size Monaco. Both models were offered only with V8 engines.
Big Discount
As for this deal, it actually represents a significant discount. For 1970, the Polara Custom sedan started at $3528 (about $29,000 in 2026 dollars). The A/C discount of $218.70 comes to about $1800 in today’s money, a nice chunk of change, and cash that can be applied to something more exciting than an AM radio.
Inflation
And as for why air condition was only found on about half of all new vehicles in 1970, that $418.30 full price for the air? That comes to about $3500 in 2026 dollars. That’s a pretty big ask on a mainstream brand car.
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1970 Dodge Polara Pictures
(Click below for enlarged images)
