<VV> Ridiculed by others... (no corvair)

[Marc Marcoulides]

I remember the seat belt add campaign in 1956 by Ford, also touted the indentation in the steering wheel to prevent the horn from breaking ribs in a collision. Another addition was the padded dash on the passenger side, research indicated it would reduce injury to the front seat passenger. Ford later admitted the ad was a subject that did not generate interest. In contrast, Ford has pointed to the first Mustang ad that strongly suggested owning that car was to have a positive effect on your "social life"

-----Original Message-----
>From: Secular <rusecular at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Aug 13, 2008 11:36 AM
>To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>Subject: <VV> Ridiculed by others... (no corvair)
>
>
>  Volvo had the first safety belts in 1849. The first U.S. patent for 
>  automobile seat beats was issued to Edward J. Claghorn of 
>  New York, on February 10, 1885. 
>
>  Claghorn was granted United States Patent #312,085 for a 
>  Safety-Belt for tourists, described in the patent as "designed 
>  to be applied to the person, and provided with hooks and 
>  other attachments for securing the person to a fixed object."
>
>  Swedish inventor, Nils Bohlin invented the three-point seat belt - 
>  not the first but the modern seatbelt - now a standard safety 
>  device in most cars. Nils Bohlin's lap-and-shoulder belt was 
>  introduced by Volvo in 1959...
>
>  source:
>
>  http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_seat_belts.htm
>
>  ----
>
>  In 1955 Ford offered for the first time lap belts as an option. In 1956, 
>  largely at the insistence of executive Robert McNamara, seat belts 
>  were offered for consumer automobiles within the "Lifeguard" 
>  safety package.
>
>  The safety device was met with ridicule by others in the industry, but it
>  caught on with the public. By 1964, Most U.S. automobiles were sold 
>  with standard front seat belts; rear seat belts were made standard in 1968...
>
>  Source:
>
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt
>
>  Nils Bohlin:
>
>  http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/04/13/043648.4-lg.jpg
>
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