Though McDonald’s may have served as an icon of American culture since first opening shop in Des Plaines, Illinois back in 1955, the drive-thru we’ve come to know and love has undergone a whole lot of changes over the past almost 70 years.
From its humble roots as a drive-in restaurant, to the introduction of the iconic headsets and even a recently-failed experiment with A.I., here is a glimpse back at the evolution of the McDonald's drive-thru.
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Though McDonald’s locations wouldn’t adopt drive-thru models until the mid ‘70s, vehicles still served as an integral part of the McDonald’s experience throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
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Upon placing a drive-in order for new menu items like the Filet-O-Fish, Big Mac and the Hot Apple Pie — classics that are still beloved roughly six decades later — some locations offered customers an unconventional free side: A free window wash while they waited for their food.
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Though classic drive-thru restaurants may have started cropping up on the west coast in the early 1930s, McDonald’s got into the game in January 1975.
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Several locations across the country had implored executives to implement a drive-thru system, yet the first went to a franchise in Sierra Vista, Arizona, which catered to several members of the U.S. military stationed at the nearby Fort Huachuca Army Base.
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Considering these soldiers were not allowed to step out of their cars if they were in their uniforms while off base, the drive-thru allowed soldiers to get their Maccas fix without peeving their commanders.
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With the newly-implemented drive-thru system taking the nation by storm — ones outfitted with a brand new wireless intercom system, one that brought about the iconic McDonald’s headsets — the fast food chain began attracting famous customers like Motörhead and former President Ronald Reagan.
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And with new fans came several innovations, the restaurant introducing including iconic items like McNuggets and the infamous McDonald’s pizza. But these new offerings didn’t necessarily come at a hefty price. In 1986, you could nab a Big Mac for just $1.60.
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With more demand, than ever, the ‘80s also brought around the invention of the double drive thru. First implemented at a McDonald’s franchise in Boulder, Colorado in 1987, this design allowed for more customers to grab their happy meals and get on their way.
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With newly-minted drive thrus and several new locations around the world, McDonald’s continued to shell out some strange items, including The Arch Deluxe, The Mickey D, and McSpaghetti. Prices were still relatively low, with a Big Mac going for $2.45 a pop.
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While not much changed in the world of McDonald’s drive-thrus — or McDrive, AutoMac or McAuto, as they’re known known in various parts of the world — the 2000s brought a whole lot more Maccas, including the Angus Third Pounder.
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In an attempt to speed up the drive thru process, McDonald’s ran an experiment at several locations in Florida: Get your food in 60 seconds or it’s free.
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“The customer gets a 60-second hourglass sand timer when they pay for their order at the payment window. If they don’t receive their food by the time the 60-seconds is over, they are given a ‘Be Our Guest’ coupon for a free sandwich on a future visit,” a spokesperson for the company said at the time.
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Despite the novelty of this concept, McDonald’s appears to have abandoned this garuntee as of 2024.
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Though a Big Mac may go for an eye-popping $5.23 in 2024, that cash appears to be going to questionable use. Back in June 2024, the fast food chain canceled its experimental A.I. drive thru program, finding that the technology left several customers not lovin’ how their robot servers managed to screw up their seemingly simple orders.
