When it comes to the unusual accessories offered on Chrysler product cars in the 1950s the steering wheel watch has to rate very high on the oddity scale! Not only was it quite costly, $49.95 compared to approx.$12-15 for a dash mount clock. But it was also impractical! One reason is since the unit was not driven by electric power the face was not illuminated at night. Sure the hands and primary numbers were treated with that early glow in the dark stuff but it did not work that well. Another reason is that when you were taking a corner telling the time could be a challenge. One of the pitches they used to sell the clock is that its Swiss movement was much more accurate than that of the factory installed clock. And the central mounting location. I would have to say that this is true. But is it really worth more than twice the price of the in dash clock?
     The next question you might ask is how did the thing work since it was not electrical? If you remember the early wristwatches that were self-winding this is the same technology that was used on the steering wheel watches. As you drove the car the turning action of the wheel via a counterweighted pendulum connected through a gear mechanism would wind the main spring. On the early version the face could also be rotated to wind the main spring.
     There are two basic versions of steering wheel clock that were offered by Chrysler corp. (MoPar) the first was introduced on Feb. 3 1954 was the Moparmatic and would fit the 53 models also. MoPar part # These could be factory or dealer installed. And were very easy to install simply grasp the horn ring center and turn counter clockwise 1/4 turn and remove the original horn ring center and install the watch with the opposite action. There were 5 different names applied to the first version Moparmatic, Chryslermatic, Desotomatic, Dodgematic and Plymouthmatic. I would have to say that the one for the Dodge is the rarest version since dodge changed its horn ring design in 1955 and eliminated the round removable center medallion this option was only available in 1953-54 for the dodge line. This makes the Dodgematic the rarest of all of the steering wheel clocks. Next would be the Plymouthmatic since $50.00 was a pretty steep price for a Plymouth buyer to pay relative to the cost of the car. The Chrysler and Desoto versions probably are about the same with the Moparmatic being the most common. Of course common is not a relative term when it comes to these as they do not show up very often. The first style offered by Benrus was a 15-jewel 8-day unit the face could be turned to wind the watch and there was also a red pointer on the face of the crystal that could be used to monitor elapsed driving time. A small button at the eleven o'clock position was used to set the time. By depressing this button and rotating the face the time could be set. Because of the different sizes of holes in the center of the horn rings there were adapters available to make them fit. This first style was used until 1956 when the new style was introduced.
     The First Available was the Moparmatic Part #1571-366 for use in any Chrysler Corporation passenger car. Then came the Chryslermatic part# 1689-112, Desotomatic part # 1689-057, Dodgematic part # unknown and Plymouthmatic part # can not find right now. In order to fit the larger 3" horn ring centers an adapter ring was needed Part #1546-864 there is also a slight variation between the early and late first series Chryslermatic clocks the early editions name was in an arch not straight like the later version ..

"Second Generation Benrus"

     By 1957 the design was changed gone was the rotating face crystal with red pointer the clock was set by depressing the button in the middle of the hands and turning. The fine adjusts screw came through the crystal in the center of the number 6. Also gone was any series identification with no reference to Chrysler Corporation, MoPar or any of the model lines.
     These could be purchased from Chrysler Corporation or directly from Benrus, the only difference was the small tag on the side of the units from Benrus. While still an 8-day clock the new unit now only carried 7 jewels. Chrysler 1957-58 and Desoto 1957-59 used (MoPar part #1819-809) (Benrus part # FA-CD-57) and Plymouth 1957-58 used (MoPar part #1819-810). The cost still remained at the $50.00 level so sales were not brisk. There still seems to be a good supply of the second generation clock movements (I would imagine that Benrus produced many more than were needed) but the mounting retainers are very difficult to find. I looked for 6 years before I found one for my car to replace the one the factory had put in but someone had removed before I got the car. And I was very lucky indeed as I found a N.O.S. unit. While Chrysler corp. was not the first to use the self-winding steering wheel clock it was the most successful with a six year run. Over the years I have been very lucky in that while searching for the clock for my car I have found 7 of the early style MoPar clocks at least one of each model except for the elusive Dodgematic!

     Oldsmobile had offered a Swiss made MAAR unit that mounted below center on a specially designed steering wheel. This was available from 1951-52 and operated much the same way as the early Benrus, with one major difference the winding mechanism on the Maar unit worked with forward and back movements also (acceleration and braking) along with rotation of the steering wheel. The winding mechanisms also had small plastic windows were the operation of the unit could be viewed. This caused the clock to be fairly large and a special turn signal arm was needed to clear the back of the unit when steering.

     The MAAR Company also made the steering wheel clock without the Oldsmobile logo! it just said "automatic car watch" this plain version was also available in a spoke mounted version the holder was designed to clamp onto the steering wheel and look like another spoke of a banjo steering wheel

     MAAR even made one with the Chevrolet Bowtie on it, the "Chevrolet car watch" this would use the same gyroscopic winding mechanism as the Oldsmobile version. I have never seen one mounted in a steering wheel so I do not know if there was a special steering wheel or if it was spoke mounted.

     Thanks to KOBUS BELGIUM I know have pictures of a Volkswagen version of the steering wheel clock. It uses the second-generation Benrus movement mounting in a special retainer to hold the mechanism securely in the center of the horn ring with o-rings while still allowing the pendulum to turn freely. I have been told that Benrus also offered the clocks for many other manufacturers, as I find more info I will add it here