Modern automobiles are credited with many of the luxuries we’ve come to expect within the last fifty years, but this wasn’t always commonplace. Much like the machines they power, car keys have changed quite extensively over more than a century. Even though starting a car wasn’t nearly as straightforward as it is now, there were other factors like lower incidence of theft that provided a solid tradeoff to these methods. Let’s get back to basics and explore the evolution of car keys.
The first gas-powered automobile was technically invented by Karl Benz (of what would later become Mercedes Benz), though this automobile was nowhere near what we consider a car today. It wasn’t until big names like Oldsmobile and Ford entered the picture that something akin to a modern car was put into production in the early 1900s. Henry Ford manufactured the Quadricycle, his invention that would end up being the blueprint for the first mass produced car, in 1896. Only 12 years later, the Model T hit the market and the rest is history.
It only makes sense then that the earliest car keys date back to around this timeframe. No car in existence was started from the engine directly in those days. Instead, early car keys completed the engine’s electrical circuit and could control the flow of electrical current to start the vehicle. This type of car key made it nearly impossible to start a car otherwise, and though this car key type saw some upgrades, it largely stayed this way until the 1940s.
In this booming era just after WWII, Chrysler invented what we would consider to be a modern key that started a vehicle straight from the ignition. It wasn’t until the 1960s that double-sided keys and dual keys (that unlocked both doors and windows) came into being. Things in the world of car keys largely stayed the same until the 1990s, when technology began to make its way into the mix
It’s hard to imagine not having the ability to unlock your car from a distance, but this was the norm as recently as the 1980s. New technology of this kind meant that securing your car, opening your trunk, or rolling down your windows could be easily done depending on the make and model of your vehicle.
Nowadays, key fobs are virtually the only way to start a modern car. Proximity sensors mean the car key must be onboard the vehicle to start, and on cold mornings, vehicles can be started remotely to save time and warm up the cabin. Over 90% of current vehicles on the market require electronic key fobs to start your car of choice.
Even beyond physical key fobs, certain auto manufacturers have made it possible to unlock your car with just your phone thanks to Apple’s Wallet app. Virtual car keys are truly the way of the future as of 2024, and it’ll be interesting to see what path car keys take in another five or ten years down the road.