A journey that started with a ‘Click’
On July 14, 2010, our simple life saving device, the three-point seat belt, will forever be a part of American history. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History will officially accept Volvo’s three-point seat belt into their collection. On that day, with a press event for media, business, government and Smithsonian officials, a little bit of Volvo will forever be a part of Washington, DC.
About 18 months ago we called the Smithsonian to ask if they were interested in acquiring our three-point seat belt for their collection. After all, 2009 would mark the 50th anniversary of this invention. Calling them was kind of like rolling dice and hoping you connect all the dots in one easy phone call. I should know that by now, nothing is ever easy. As luck would have it, the Museum was working on a collection of automotive safety “firsts” and our seatbelt would be a key acquisition for the collection. However, first we had to document and they had to verify that we were first. Then we had to prove it was fitted as described, and that it was standard in our cars. What we finally agreed upon was that after 1961 all our cars were fitted with that seat belt.
Originally we were just going to give them a seat belt but since the process took so long, we finally had a belt mounted to a mock-up PV 544 driver side seat with floor pan, seat attachments and ‘B’ pillar for auto shows. We couldn’t authenticate the seat or belt came from a 1961, which is what the Smithsonian needed, so we bought a ’61, took out the original equipment and mounted it on a display stand. The Smithsonian then back-tracked the original car to its previous owner, authenticated that it rolled out of the factory with standard-fitted three-point belts, and I thought we were good to go. I felt like I was watching CSI, they were so thorough in their background searching. Thanks to a long time friend and Volvo restorer, Alan Prosser (www.alanauto.com) who tracked down what we needed, got it packed and sent it down to our Rockleigh headquarters. It turned out that finding a good, original seat that’s 50-years old was a tougher task than I could have ever imagined.
For over a year, our display sat, packed, ready to ship, on our loading dock, right next to our trash compactor. Yeah, can you feel the fear I had, almost daily, that someone would consider it trash and we’d be back to first base. I thank the Swedish Viking gods for protecting it from our compactor.
Finally late last month we got the call to ship. The display was repacked, shrink wrapped and sent on its way with kisses from all of us.
I doubt that Nils Bolin would have ever thought his invention would save more than 1 million people’s lives and that it would become standard in all cars, mandated by law in 1972. Through the years, Nils has received many awards and accolades, but I think this one simple donation would stand out as his crowning achievement, aside from personal thanks from people whose lives were saved by his invention.
Today we like to say there is a little bit of Volvo in all cars.
This July, we will be heading to Washington to present our three-point seat belt to the Smithsonian, a very good day for Volvo.
Dan
Below is our two-point seat belt. I think we sold it just for couple of years. When I had my first Volvo, ’58 444, there were mounting holes for seat belts, sold as an accessory. I bought a set, installed them and my father refused to use it, and I refused to drive him anywhere.
Good video of our seat belt’s history: http://www.youtube.com/volvocarsnews#p/u/53/xQFrBX84RVY
Posted in Awards, customer care, distracted driving, news, pedestrian safety, Quality of Life, safety, seat belt, Volvo History | 2 Comments »Word Smithing 101
When Toyota announced their Star Safety System, we started to scratch our heads like, “Gosh, what makes that so special?” I put together lists of what Volvo had, when we had it, when it was fitted, to what models, if there were any markets we didn’t have something fitted … and it became overwhelming.
So I called Toyota’s customer service line to have them explain exactly what systems were installed and when. Seems that starting model year 2011 they will have things fitted across their model line, but not all cars right now. Interesting.
Trying to get that list going again, I asked Bruno in Regulations and Compliance if he could help. So he started his own list. About one week later, I learned that Mike in Product Planning was putting a list together, too. As easy as it seemed, it was impossible to pin it all down. We know in the last four to five years we already have everything that Toyota’s Star Safety System has, and in one form or another those systems have been in our cars for many years.
Much like we do today, our most advanced systems – like City Safety and the upcoming Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake – need progressively higher levels of electronics than prior generations. In fact, the XC60 has City Safety, yet it can not initially be fitted with Pedestrian Detection since its electronics are like version 9.00.01.01 and the S60 is 9.00.01.02 (made up numbers, but you get the idea).
So here’s what NY Times Blogger Dexter Ford said about Star Safety System:
“Toyota is the first full-line manufacturer to make the Star Safety System standard on all vehicles.”
Not certain what a “full-line” means. I guess if that means pick-up trucks, okay, you got us.
“Toyota Motor Sales is not aware of any Toyota patents on the five safety technologies, but we were innovative in combining these systems economically in non-luxury vehicles … ” states their advertising manager.
I wonder what luxury means? Guess that’s us. They never considered Volvo luxury in prior years. It’s good to know we’re now considered an upscale competitor to them, but we’re excluded from their definition of a car company that offers safety.
You know, safety isn’t a surface condition, it’s not something that is touted one year and dismissed the next. It is a constant target for improving quality of life for people in and around cars. Safety is not a marketing slogan, it’s not even a DNA issue. It’s more like an unseen bit of our Swedish soul. We’re very pleased that Toyota is finally adding safety to their cars that we have had in ours for years. Welcome to the party!
Dan
Posted in City Safety, customer care, distracted driving, news, pedestrian safety, Quality of Life, S60, safety, XC60, XC60 General | Comments Off
