A hifi head guy showed me an old SAAB part, unless he's misguided they used pneumatic actuated user panels long ago. Felt insanely overengineered .. but pretty sexy at the same time.
For what its worth, up until 1970-71, vacuum operated things in cars (locks and and I think windows) were not uncommon, even beyond that, up until basically the start of the current era (2010), vacuum operated air conditioning systems (to change the flow of air) were the norm too (I suspect they still are on ICE cars). In addition, most cars with concealed headlights used vacuum motors to open and close them.
Furthermore, windshield wipers were not infrequently powered by the power steering system, rather than electrically driven. High torque electric motors in a small enough package and affordable enough didn't exist until the late 60's.
Not a mass-market product, but another fantastic anomaly in automotive engineering is the hydraulic system used to power the accessory systems in the Mercedes 600; the classic chariot of late-20th century despots and celebs.
It ran on mineral oil at a nominal pressure of IIRC 3200 psi. Could cleanly slice a finger off if poorly maintained & it sprung a leak in an inopportune corner of the system. All this to ensure that the auto's accessories operated with all the smoothness and silence that befitted a head of state.
Yeah ... and some (like my 99) had alterations made at the U.S. point-of-entry. The added A/C system was so cold it would freeze your body parts. Since the air-ducts were routed through the glove box (who doesn't want heated gloves in the winter), this also resulted in having ice-cold Cokes in the summer :)
I'm pretty sure my 1982 SAAB 900 Turbo (bought used in 1988 with about 94k miles on it from original owner) had pneumatic actuation for the dials...but it's long gone and i can't check now.
