Like them or not, you`ll be seeing more air bag-equipped cars in the next few years.
The government has mandated that the automakers provide passive restraint systems in their cars by 1990.
The program calls for a phase-in of:
– Air bags that inflate in the event of a collision to cushion the occupants from steering wheel, dash and windshield impact; or
– Automatic lap/shoulder belts that fasten around front-seat occupants on their own without occupants having to reach over and hook a clasp.
The program began in the 1987 model year, when 10 percent of all cars were required to have bags or automatic belts. It moved up to 25 percent in 1988, goes to 40 percent in 1989 and reaches 100 percent beginning in 1990.
Robert Munson, director of Ford Motor Co.`s Automotive Safety Office, was in Chicago last week to meet with members of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Fleet Administrators. He gave bag and belt
demonstrations and tried to persuade those who purchase cars in multiples for company use to check air bags on the order sheet.
Ford offers air bags in only the compact Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz for 1988 but will add the cushions, driver and passenger side, as standard equipment in the luxury Continental for 1989, Munson said.
Ford first offered air bags to fleet customers in 1985 to test the merits of the system. In mid-1986 it began offering bags to retail customers as an $815 option. Only about 150 buyers were lured by the system.
In 1987 about 12,000 air-bag cars were sold, which represents the total number obtained through suppliers. Roughly half were bought by fleet customers, half by retail consumers. Though still an $815 option, Ford offered a $500 rebate on cars with the system to help promote their sale.
”Our research found consumers were willing to buy air bags if the price was around $300; so we offered the rebate which brought the bags down to $315,” Munson said.
For 1988, the air bag is part of an option package in Tempo and Topaz. In addition to the bag, you get a high-output engine, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power locks and mirrors and rear window defroster. The package goes for $984 to $1,013, depending on the model.
Though limited to 12,000 air bags in 1988, supplies will increase to 50,000 to 60,000 units in 1989, when Continental adds them as standard. And by the early `90s Ford will offer air bags in up to 1 million cars, Munson said. Only time will tell how consumers will react to the spread of air bags and whether it will go smoothly or touch off a run on used cars minus the system.
Munson said Tempo/Topaz air bag-equipped cars on the road have logged 340 million miles of driving and have been involved in 1,600 accidents, 188 of them severe enough to deploy the air bag.
There have been two deaths in air-bag cars. But the accidents were catastrophic-though the bags deployed, the cars proved no match for a log-hauling semi-trailer and a cement mixer truck, Munson said.
Some believe bags will benefit from the alternative: Automatic belts. These motorized systems glide along a track adjacent to the door opening and wrap around the upper torso of front seat occupants. Automatic belts are standard on Escort, Tempo and Topaz.
Another form of passive belt is the one in which the strap is fixed in the door and fastens against the upper torso when the door is closed and then slips away when the door is reopened for exit.
The objection to automatic passive belts seems to be motorists` fear of being tangled in the straps and smokers` concerns over the belts` penchant for making two cigarettes out of one.
The objection to bags has been fear of inadvertent deployment or, worse, not deploying. The bags are supposed to open when sensors in the front bumper signal a nitrogen gas cannister to inflate the nylon bag in a millisecond.
Munson said Ford`s position isn`t that one or the other system is best, but rather that bags and belts should be used together.
Our favorite safety system is antilock brakes. Though belts hold you in position and away from impact with the dash in a collision and though bags cushion you from the wheel or windshield in a frontal crash, antilock brakes bring you to a sure, straight stop regardless of road conditions. That means antilock brakes could prevent the impact and the need for the bags and belts to go to work.
Munson recognizes antilock brakes as a safety system, too, but won`t waver on the importance of safety restraints.
”If you look at (antilock brakes) in terms of accident avoidance, yes, it`s a safety feature. It means when you apply the brakes, you don`t veer lane to lane and that can prevent accidents. But accidents do occur when brakes won`t help-and bags and belts do,” Munson said.
Notes
Anxious Continental buyers have called wondering what happened to the cars they ordered. Word from Lincoln-Mercury is that demand has exceeded supply; that only about 30,000 will be built this year has hampered meeting the demand.
Another problem is that Ford found a problem with the white body side moldings on white Continentals. The color deteriorated on the moldings, so production of all-white Continentals is on hold.
Continental availability will get better in 1989 when output of the front-wheel-drive luxury car is increased, Lincoln-Mercury spokeswoman Linda Lee said. However, that won`t necessarily be good news for those interested in a Lincoln Town Car. The Continental and Town Car are built at Ford`s Wixom, Mich., plant, and that facility is on maximum overtime. To increase Continental output, the plant has had to cut the number of Town Cars built.
Would, perhaps, Ford consider adding Continental production at another facility?
”Not in the plans,” Lee said.
Those waiting for an ordered car become eligible to be sent a Cross pen and pencil set compliments of Lincoln-Mercury after 45 days have elapsed.
Owners of Chrysler`s Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager mini-vans and Chrysler New Yorker, New Yorker Landau and Dodge Dynasty cars equipped with the 3-liter Mitsubishi V-6 engine have to pay closer attention to replacement oil filters they purchase. Chrysler says some owners got mixed up and replaced filters for the 3-liter V-6 introduced last spring with filters for a former 2.6-liter 4-cylinder Mitsubishi. The mixup has occurred in mini-vans and cars. Beware, because the 2.6-liter oil filter has metric threads, and the 3-liter has U.S. threads; they aren`t compatible. Chrysler said those with a 3-liter Mitsubishi engine should use a Mopar oil filter with part number 4105409 or a Mitsubishi filter with part number MD108063. Chrysler said any replacement filter for its 2.2- or 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engines also is compatible with the 3-liter engine.
Yugo, with a 146-day supply of cars in dealer stocks as of March 1, up from 140 days a month ago, is offering $500 rebates through the end of the month. Dealers kick in half that.
