original aftermarket A/C, Frigette Strato V

... Now I don't think it is possible to buy a new car without AC.

There was a year when Lexus offered the LS400 with no options besides the Lexus branded Pioneer radio or the Nakamichi radio. I wouldn't say it was cheaper to make them with everything..nothing was cheap on an early Lexus. They had a hydraulic fan motor inches from a serpentine belt pulley.