Car phones, using a combination of radio and normal telephone lines, have been around since the mid ’40s, though back then the equipment was pretty significant and consumed a decent chunk of a car’s trunk. Here’s an old video explaining how it worked, along with a lot of hilariously stilted conversations:

This probably deserves more than just a Cold Start, but I couldn’t help talking about it a bit. Anyway, welcome to a new week.   I miss interiors that came in, you know, colors. Options besides “dirty dishwater,” “greyge,” and black. Oldsmobile in the ’80s was the king of this. He rarely made a call while driving. He was usually parked in some scenic location near the crime scene, pick up the phone and tell the operator to dial a number for him. Man, that was the height of ’70s technology!

Cold Start   Outside Sources  - 42