Despite negative publicity about air bags killing drivers and passengers, automakers are adding more bags to their 1998 models, though some are optional, not standard.
All 1998 passenger cars are required to have dual front air bags–and trucks will be required to have them for 1999. But BMW is going a step further by offering side air bags for the rear seats on its 1998 7-Series sedan as a $385 option. The bags are mounted in the rear doors and deploy in side collisions to protect the upper torso.
“We’ve left that as an option because everyone’s recommendation is to put children in the back seat for safety reasons,” said Richard Brekus, the product planning manager for BMW North America. “Children could fall asleep in the back and lean against the air bag. That could be a concern, so we left it up to the customer to decide.
“People today ask more questions about air bags,” Brekus said. “They want to know are more air bags necessarily safer?”
BMW and other manufacturers maintain that air bags are safe when used to supplement seat belts, the primary restraint.
BMW also has added side head protection on the 1998 7- and 5-Series sedans as standard. Called the Head Protection System, it is a cloth tube that inflates to prevent head injuries to front-seat occupants in side impacts.
The system will become standard on future BMW models except convertibles, which don’t have the permanent roof structure required for the mountings. Side air bags in the front doors also are standard on the 5- and 7-Series models.
Mercedes-Benz has developed a “window bag,” an air cushion that inflates along the length of the passenger compartment to protect occupants from hitting a side window or roof pillar. Mercedes says the window bag could appear on U.S. models in early 1999.
Volvo is developing a similar feature it calls an “inflatable curtain” that deploys at head level along the sides. The company says it expects to offer the inflatable curtain by 2000.
Volvo was the first to introduce side air bags, in 1995, as standard on its 850 sedan and wagon. The following year Volvo made side air bags standard on all its models.
Side air bags and features such as BMW’s Head Protection System are not mandated. And the federal government is allowing car companies to “depower” front air bags on 1998 models, reducing the force at which they deploy by 20 to 35 percent to reduce the chance of injury.
About 80 deaths have been attributed to deploying front air bags. Most of the fatalities were unbelted or improperly belted children and small adults. Small adults and children younger than 12 are most vulnerable to air bags because of their stature and weight.
Most car companies will depower the front air bags on their 1998 models, but some, such as BMW, will not.
BMW has had a dual-threshold system since 1997 that the company says makes depowering unnecessary. If the front-seat occupants are not belted, the air bags will deploy in a 12-mile-per-hour collision. The air bags will not deploy until 15 m.p.h. if the person is belted. The passenger-side air bag will not deploy if a sensor detects the seat is not carrying at least 25 pounds.
Audi is changing its front air bags to the dual-threshold type. Last year, Audi became the first manufacturer to equip a car with six air bags. The A8, a $64,000 luxury sedan available in limited numbers in the U.S., comes with dual front air bags and side air bags for the four outboard seating positions.
Side air bags for the front seats are standard on less-expensive Audis for 1998, including the A6 sedan and all A4 models. Rear side air bags are a new option on the A6.
Side air bags for the front seats were supposed to become standard on the Cadillac Catera last spring, but deployment problems have delayed their introduction until probably next spring.
Cadillac spokesman Tom Wilkinson said when the side air bags are ready, they may be optional instead of standard on the Catera.
“We’re not clear how much demand there is now for side air bags, given all the controversy over air bags,” Wilkinson said. “Two years ago, we would have pushed to get them on the cars as soon as possible, but now we don’t know.”
The Catera is built in Germany by General Motors’ Opel subsidiary. Other Cadillacs, which are built in the U.S., have standard side air bags.
The Catera starts around $30,000 and competes with entry-level luxury sedans such as the Lexus ES300, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3-Series.
“It’s also a price and feature issue with the Catera,” Wilkinson said. “The market is so competitive and price sensitive for entry luxury cars.”
However, side air bags are standard for 1998 on the ES300, C-Class and most of the 3-Series. Side air bags for the front seats also are standard for 1998 on General Motors’ front-wheel-drive mini-vans–the Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Trans Sport–the Toyota Avalon and Volkswagen Passat, all of which cost less than $30,000, and optional on less-expensive cars such as the midsize Toyota Camry and subcompact Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Prizm.
Ford announced in November that it will add side air bags to its passenger cars and light trucks starting in 1999, and a spokeswoman said that schedule has not changed.
