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Manual and Electric Trunk Access

The anatomy of a remote trunk-opening assembly

Sometime in the early Sixties a Detroit whiz kid came up with the idea of offering a remote trunk opening gizmo—a device that would allow you to unlatch the trunk without getting out of the car. The implications were enormous, particularly during the days when the box boy at the market would bring the groceries out to your car. Drive up, pop the trunk and you're gone! WOW, what a concept!

Until that time, the trunk key was the only way to access that handy storage area. This option created a wonderful new convenience product (in the age of convenience items) that the manufacturers knew would sell. The problem was how to do it in a cost-effective manner. The first solution was a cable pull device with the handle mounted in the glove box. The cable was routed down the passenger side of the car under the carpet and into the trunk. The driver would pull the handle, which would trip the latch in the trunk, and it would open. The problem was that the cable was so long that over a short time, dirt and internal rust would make it impossible to move the wire inside the cable. A new solution had to be found.

Pop-the-Trunk!

Using an electric solenoid in the late-Sixties solved that minor problem. A push button was mounted in the glove box, with a wire that was routed like the pull cable into the trunk and up to the trunk lock. Push the button and the solenoid pulled the latch, opening the trunk.

Consumers loved it and it was an immediate hit! The Photo Gallery will show you the main components of each type of opener. The manual version is fairly rare and a tough item to find should you want to add one to your car. But to the gadget-phile, it's a cool option to have.