Show Standard-Examine- r Thursday August 1 1974 LAFF - A - DAY “Nonsense George! That s not your opinion at all0 Car Buyers Steer Clear Of Air Bag LECHTZIN UP! Auto Writer Detroit (UPI) — Given their 10000 choice fewer than By EDWARD S Americans have selected an air car over one that has belts buzzers and lights that force motorists to buckle up before driving Many safety experts see the air bag as the best way to and their drivers protect even in accident an passengers want that if don’t they sort of Some passive protection restraint system— probably air bags— will be included in every car built after Sept 1 1976 General Motors has been offering motorists the choice between the starter interlock system and the air bag as a $225 option since January By run the time the ands fewer than 10000 will have been built Many of those went into GM’s own car fleet as well as several insurance company fleets GM President Edward N Cole wants to leave the air bag as an optional system until it can be proven in greater use He admits however that sales haven’t been up to expectabag-equipp- 1974-mod- el tions SCALED DOWN The company had originally planned to sell 100000 air bag-equipp- ed cars but scaled that down to 50000 because of the mid-mod- year el introduction Then the big car sales slump hit with the start of the Arab oil boycott and the company’s plans were shot down The air bags will be offered again as an option on selected 1975 models of the Oldsmobile Buick and Cadillac Cole says it offers real value to the consumer who wants the added convenience and who can afford it “But at the same time we strongly resist the idea that air bags should be made mandatory across the board over all car lines” the GM president said in a recent interview “Even though we do not have a broad enough statistical base to evaluate the effectiveness of the air cushion restraint system in relation to other restraints” Cole said “our experience so far satisfies us that it works like it’s supposed to” WORK AUTOMATICALLY What the air bag is supposed to do is inflate automatically when the car’s sensors determine that an impact will be severe enough to cause injury to the car’s occupants GM has recorded 14 bag inflations with 1000-ca- r test fleet that has traveled more than 37 million miles and another four on cars the air bag was selected I where as an option Another reason why GM like to go slow on air I would is that its lawyers still bags don’t know if the courts will hold the company liable for injuries suffered in cars with air bags There hasn’t been any legal action yet against GM because of air bags and Cole admits he doesn’t know how the courts will react The government hasn’t specifically stated that air bags must be installed on 1977 models but it does want some sort of passive restraint system that won’t require any action on the part of drivers or their passengers The air bag has received the most attention but other companies are working on passive belts and an air belt system The work is proceeding on these passive systems because Americans have shown an to the aversion apparent buckto government’s attempts le them up Safety belt usage has gone up in recent years but studies show more than 40 per cent of the drivers of cars still don’t use safety belts a I ’ 1974-mod- el BUCKLING UP “We must not place all our faith in all motorists’ willingness to buckle up” says Cole “A new car with a starter interlock belt system provides an excellent incentive but not all users will maintain them Studies indicate that voluntary use isn’t too high A survey by the Washington-base- d Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that in 1973 models all of which had a buzzer-ligbelt system only 23 per cent of the drivers used belts Only 7 per cent used the belt combina- ht lap-shoul- tion |