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Racing to keep a step ahead of the federal regulators, General Motors in February announced that all its 1967 models would carry a dual-braking system and a collapsible steering column that would telescope on crash impact. American Motors will buy the steering column from G.M., and Chrysler hints that it is building its own, but Ford for now plans to stick with its rigid steering shaft, which meets GSA standards because it is recessed 31 inches below the rim of the steering wheel. Last month GSA said that it intends to make even more stringent demands for 1968 cars, among them rear-window defoggers, front-seat headrests to prevent whiplash injuries, lights and reflectors to mark the car's sides, stronger padding on the dash and on the back of front seats. Boston's Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Co. has built a "safety car"—a Chevy Bel Air with automatic fire extinguisher, seats with high, rounded backs to prevent whiplash, and a stay-awake alarm that a drowsy driver can set to ring if he loosens his grip on the wheel.
The New Package
Still unsatisfied, critics argue that the contemplated safety features are merely primitive tack-on devices, that the industry is morally obligated to build an entirely new package with a collapsible, shock-absorbing front end and tail, completely rounded or recessed interior fittings, and a rigid passenger compartment that would protect people like eggs in a crate. Would such cars be too expensive? The companies might well absorb the cost by cutting back on shiny chrome and spearlike ornaments that are now often hazards to both drivers and pedestrians. What of looks? As Chrysler Safety Chief Haeusler has put it: "To a great degree our cars are 'women's hats.' They have to have special attractiveness, and sometimes they even compromise with function." The car is indeed a product of compromise, but the view is gaining ground that the safety engineers must prevail over the stylists. Besides, Detroit's ingenuity is such that a safer car could look every bit as smart as the contemporary models.
Detroit argues that it is working at top speed to upgrade safety, but some problems now defy solution and demand more research. Says Ford President Arjay Miller: "Experience has taught us that intuition and common sense are poor guides. The obvious answer often turns out to be no answer at all." Not long ago, many experts thought that seat belts were dangerous, and that the best way to survive a crash was to be hurled out of the car—notions that experiments have proved to be dead wrong. The automakers have found that soft, spongy padding gives a deceptive sense of safety, does almost nothing to prevent injuries; engineers now use fairly stiff plastic and are looking for a more suitable insulation. They are also trying to devise shoulder harnesses that will prevent fractured skulls without breaking necks or backs in the process—and that passengers can be persuaded to use.