Early automobiles had tillers, similar to the tillers used
to steer boats. The tiller was attached to a simple mechanism that
made the car’s front wheels turn when the tiller was pushed to the
left or right. During 1894, a French engineer named Alfred
Vacheron modified his Panhard runabout, replacing the tiller with
a wheel attached to a shaft that went through the floor of the
vehicle at a nearly vertical angle, where it attached to a
mechanism that turned the front wheels.
Packard likely came up with the glove box. An article in a 1900
edition of The Horseless Age magazine describes the Model B: “The
body of the carriage shows the best possible coach work and
upholstering, and the aim has been to get rid of the ‘horse
wanted’ appearance. The leather dash is not used, but instead a
boot or box forms part of the body. In this is ample space for
parcels, waterproofs, etc.” Other automakers soon started adding
compartment-like features in place of old-fashioned dashes. The
modern-looking glove compartment, with a drop-down door, first
appeared during the 1920s.