02nd Aug 2008

Drivers Safety Films Commercials: Ford’s Lifeguard Design

Let’s say it’s 1956, you’re Ford, and you want to sell cars. How the hell do you do that when everybody already has a car? Sure, you’re selling replacement cars, but it takes years for the damn things to wear out…

The solution is easy! Sell them all second cars.
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After all, walking is unthinkable…

It’s amazing how thoroughly that idea has permeated modern society. If you’re shopping at the grocery store and need to go to the pizza place next door, obviously you drive there and park again rather than just walk over and back. It’s simpler to sit in the drive-through lane (engine running, of course) for fifteen minutes at lunch-rush-hour than park and walk in. If I walk a mile to the library, people look at me like I’m bat-shit insane.

ANYWAY. This post is supposed to be about safety!

I like the sound of Lifeguard Design — y’know, like the car will jump in the pool to save you from drowning — but it’s actually just dull safety features

Spurred by Robert McNamara, the University of Cornell crash research program and the first year of Ford own crash testing (1955) the Lifeguard package included:

  • Two standard features:
    • A safety “deep-center” steering wheel.
    • Safety “double-grip” door latches to prevent occupant ejection in case of a crash.
  • Three optional features:
    • Front and rear lap only seat belts (first offered by Ford in 1955).
    • Padded dashboard and sun visors. The instruments were recessed to minimize injury potential.
    • Safety rearview mirror to reduce broken glass if shattered.

The buying public was unresponsive to the Lifeguard package…

I think all of these are now NHTSA regulated to some extent, although I’m not sure exactly what “deep-center” steering wheel even means. Probably something along the lines of “it won’t jam a steel shaft through your chest if you impact it during a crash”…


Image Source: McLellan’s Automotive

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 am and is filed under advertisement, automotive, automotive safety, new technologies, suburban sprawl, video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Drivers Safety Films Commercials: Ford’s Lifeguard Design”

  1. August 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm Buzz Says:

    I imagne that’s not THE Robert McNamara. ‘Twould be funny if it were though.

  2. August 3rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm cleanser Says:

    There’s also an Australian figure skater by that name, but I’m guessing that’s not who first came to mind! Robert McNamara was with Ford before he became Secretary of Defense.

    He was one of ten former WW II officers known as the “Whiz Kids”, who helped the company to stop its losses and administrative chaos by implementing modern planning, organization, and management control systems.

    Amazing how history repeats, isn’t it? Ford could use another dose of Whiz Kids.

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