We present two new models describing the dynamic behavior of
an automotive thermostat,
involving delay-differential equations with hysteresis. Existence, uniqueness,
and regularity of
the solutions for both models are obtained by a continuation argument.
We
establish sufficient
conditions for the models to exhibit intrinsic oscillations. We also present
an algorithm for
numerical approximations of the solutions and give some representative
numerical simulations.
These reveal a rather interesting dynamical behavior of the solutions.