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The History of Auto Glass

auto glass

Look around you. Everything evolved from something else. Everything has a history. Have you ever wondered what the history of auto glass is?

In the beginning, there were no glass windows or windshields. This is the reason why you see old pictures of drivers and also passengers wearing clunky goggles and heavy scarfs. They had to withstand the elements and bugs. Of course, in those times, speed was not what it is today, and trips were rather short. So, what is the story behind my car windshield?

A Very Brief History of Auto Glass

The first windshields were manufactured around 1904. Manufacturers used regular glass, which led to serious injuries and death when there was a crash. So car windshield replacement was only a portion of what it is today.

Throughout the decade, all cars began to sport windshields in Europe and North America. It was visionary and also car industry father, Henry Ford, who requested his team of inventors to design a better looking, safer, and cost-effective glass for automobiles.

The next big step forward in the auto glass industry was the use of cellulose compounds. A French inventor named Edouard Benedictus was running chemical experiments and noticed his beakers would not break if he covered them in cellulose nitrate. The discovery would soon find its way into the car market. By injecting this chemical mixture between two glass laminates, manufacturers were able to create a much sturdier and safer windshield for vehicles. By the early 1950s, curved glass was a common product in the vehicle industry. This eventually evolved into the laminated glass windshields and technology that we use today.

With the boom of the car industry through the ’50s and ’60s, manufacturers constantly researched and developed ways to produce better and cheaper windshields.

The rest is history. Even truck windshield replacement greatly benefitted from all this development history. There are as many types of auto glass as there are car manufacturers in the world today.

In conclusion, getting a windshield replacement in Phoenix, AZ, could not be easier today. Just call Hightech Autoglass, and you will go home with brand new, shiny auto glass on your car.