Heated seats have been around a long time, but when did "cooled" seats
first appear?

The first time I remember hearing about them and thinking " Oooh,
nice!" was on a MB S-class 2 or 3 years ago.

Reason I'm posting in this group is the leather seats in my '98 M3 are
really a problem in the Arizona heat right now; probably not helped by
the fact that it's a convertible. If I park where there's no shade,
which is unavoidable sometimes, even with a sunshade and the windows
down slightly, top up of course, the seats are very hot. Being leather,
there's no air circulation, so after I get home, my back is literally
dripping with sweat. Sounds like it's time to get a lambswool seat
cover or something.

It's gotten so bad, my wife (who's actually the main driver) and I had
a big fight as to the probability of getting a retrofit kit from BMW to
add cooled seats. Without even calling them I'm 99.9% sure they would
LTAO. #1 it's a '98 before cooled seats appeared in any production car,
#2 the cost would be astronomical considering it's a B'mer. She was
really hurt that I would dismiss her idea so easily. Women!

Thoughts?