Side airbags to be standard on nearly all 2010 vehicles

[rickaren]

Side airbags to be standard on nearly all 2010 vehicles

Posted Friday, Aug 28, 2009, 1:24 pm in Employee News

Nearly all 2010 model passenger cars and light trucks starting to roll into dealerships this fall will have side air bags under a six-year-old agreement, The Detroit News reported.

The added safety feature is the fulfillment of a 2003 voluntary agreement by automakers to improve vehicle compatibility in front- and side-impact crashes, the paper noted. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai Corp., Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Daimler AG, Mitsubishi, Nissan Motor Co, Subaru, Suzuki, BMW AG, and Volkswagen AG signed onto the pact, the News said.

The paper said the agreement required vehicles in the 2010 model year, which starts Sept. 1, to have head-protecting side air bags. It does not apply to fleet sales, including vehicles sold to rental car companies, the story said.

“This voluntary agreement is actually a model for responsible action on behalf of automakers to improve occupant safety,” said Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing 11 automakers including the Detroit Three. “Just six years later, 100 percent of the vehicles involved in this commitment have now been engineered according to the agreement’s performance criteria.” (The Detroit News)