<P> A car phone is a mobile phone device specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile . This service originated with the Bell System, and was first used in St. Louis on June 17, 1946 . </P> <P> The original equipment weighed 80 pounds (36 kg), and there were initially only 3 channels for all the users in the metropolitan area . Later, more licenses were added, bringing the total to 32 channels across 3 bands (See IMTS frequencies). This service was used at least into the 1980s in large portions of North America . On October 2, 1946, Motorola communications equipment carried the first calls on Illinois Bell Telephone Company's new car radiotelephone service in Chicago . Due to the small number of radio frequencies available, the service quickly reached capacity . </P>

When did the first car phone come out