Air bags in the 70’s

[Caddyholic]

Has anyone on here ever owned or seen a mid 70's Cadillac with air bags? If so any pictures. How many cars did they make with them?

[Carfreak]

We have a Kent Moore J-24628 Air Cushion Restraint Analyzer circa 1973 / 1974 with the Manual.

Bob Elton, Motor City Region CLC and SAE member borrowed it a few years ago for a display at the annual SAE World Congress held in Detroit. Don't recall for sure if they had a car also which featured the early system. You could always reach out to Bob (contact info should be in the CLC Directory) or I can ask him at our April meeting. 

You can buy your own J-24628:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/125913586673

Additional information:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Cushion_Restraint_System

[TJ Hopland]

I have seen one in person at a classic car dealership.   Seen maybe a dozen others in photos over the years and I want to say it was pretty heavily Cadillac but I seem to recall maybe one or 2 Buick or Olds then Chrysler or AMC?   What I recall is they all had an identical steering wheel which didn't even slightly match the rest of the car.   

[Clewisiii]

It was introduced on Oldsmobile first then Cadillac the next year. I think the first year of Oldsmobile was kept to Fleet vehicles so they could get them back for testing.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The Wikipedia story is interesting.

Chevrolet got the first 1000 in 1973, and then Oldsmobile and Cadillac.

I couldn't see the pictures as one had to be a Member to delve deeper into Wikipedia.   It was described as a 4 spoke wheel, and the 1000 Chevrolets got the Oldsmobile Dash, and frame strengthening.

Bruce.

[Cadman-iac]

  Not sure what year these first came out, but I've got a 1974 Air-bag service manual for the Buick, Cadillac, and the Oldsmobile. Here's what it looks like.

Rick

[TJ Hopland]

It must seem that they were heavy on Cadillac because more Cadillacs survived.   The Chevs likely got used up and junked back in their day. 

[Cadman-iac]

It must seem that they were heavy on Cadillac because more Cadillacs survived.  The Chevs likely got used up and junked back in their day. 

I'm sure that this option wasn't cheap either, so someone considering a Chevrolet would probably pass on that. The manual I have doesn't list the Chevrolet as being fitted with the option anyway, just Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobile.
Not to mention that back then air bags hadn't even been advertised that I'm aware of, so nobody knew anything about them. And given the ugly appearance of the only steering wheel used for any vehicle that got "bagged", I'm sure that also turned off a lot of prospective customers.

Rick

[eldofever58]

ACRS-equipped Olds, Buick and Cads do turn up from time to time. The initial run of 1973 Chevrolets were part of a test fleet and not offered commercially, however the next time you watch Seinfeld, look closely at Kramer's Impala. It's one of those cars!

The system was quite advanced, more so than many 80's offerings a decade+ later. Not only was it dual stage, but it was designed for all 3 front seat occupants. The passenger-side airbag is sized to cover the center passenger, and in addition to the steering wheel, a smaller airbag under the dash inflates to keep the driver from sliding under the lap belt. The downside of ACRS is you have to forego tilt wheel, and you lose the large glovebox, but there are a couple smaller storage cubbies builtin, IIRC.

One other interesting tidbit about these cars...they have no shoulder belts! With the gov't mandate of the '74 seat belt interlock system, GM was betting this would be a big seller as it met the mandate without "forcing" the front seat passengers to buckle up. No buzzers, no song and dance with belt latches or packages on the seat preventing starting (or popping the hood for an override). When this mandate was repealed, only the most safety conscious were willing to pony-up for the option.

I'm pretty sure GM lost money on every one they made, and when the B/C cars were redesigned for '77, there was no reason to continue offering it.

[smokuspollutus]

For what it's worth Kramer had a full size Chef row lay with this option and the vehicle was featured a number of episodes of Seinfeld showing the option.

[Cadman-iac]

  So it wasn't offered as an option for Chevrolet then? At least not for those early 70's ones anyway?

[TJ Hopland]

The fleet thing kinda seems logical.  Good way to get them out in the realish world without them really being out there.  If something went wrong they likely had more flexibility with a fleet lease sort of thing than a regular sale.  After the term ended they could get them back and do what every they wanted.  They could just then sell them as is or they could convert them back to normal and sell em. 

[James Landi]

You may recall this as a headline from '72... about the same time this occurred, I remember thinking that the driver would likely have been in better physical condition if his Cadillac had an air bag. 

''This chapter describes David Hanley's attempt to end the hijacking of American Flight 119 by trying to hit the plane with his Cadillac Eldorado. When Hanley crashed through the fence, FBI agents tried to intercept him and stop him. At the last second, Hanley swerved, careening off the nose wheel before slamming to a stop, smashing up against the landing gear under the port wing, and rocking the plane backward. FBI agents ran to the demolished Cadillac and tried to rescue Hanley, who hung motionless over the driver's-side door. Because of the car slamming into the plane and the danger of fire due to the leaked fuel, the hijacker panicked and intended to either kill his hostages or blow up the plane with his grenade.''

[Caddyholic]

The reason I ask Is I remember When Government forced air bags on us in the late 80's I thought it was a new technology. My uncle told me that Cadillac had them in the 70's and it was like a $800 option on a $5000 car and they only sold 100 of them.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

This is an excerpt from Wikipedia.

The system was first installed in a test fleet of 1,000 1973 Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedans, painted in a unique green color. The exterior of these Impalas were identical to regular 1973 production models, but used a 1974-style Oldsmobile instrument panel and brand-new steering wheel design. The chassis of these cars were reinforced, and each Impala was equipped with a high-performance 350 cubic-inch V8 engine, the same one used in the Corvette.

and.

Of the original fleet of Chevrolets, virtually all were eventually disposed of except one, which is currently fully restored. The only reported fatality was an unrestrained infant killed in a crash when the passenger's side airbag deployed in one of the Impalas.[1]

In the early 1990s, two of the original test Impalas were located, one in a junkyard, the other, stored in a shed. Although in rundown condition, both cars were able to refurbished enough to be crash-tested, and the airbags deployed perfectly in both vehicles. [2]

Bruce.

[Caddyholic]

Is this an airbag car? 74 Talisman with no tilt.

[TJ Hopland]

That looks like one to me.  No tele was a thing but I don't remember if you could still get tilt.  I suppose maybe you could not because it was less strong or predictable maybe?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

With a Telescopic wheel, when the bag went off, it would force the wheel to full collapse   Plus, if the wheel was tilted too much, the bag might not have the correct effect.

Bruce.

[SteveB3155]

My father was the General Manager of the Cadillac/Olds dealer in Plymouth, MA from 1967-1977.  I would hang out in the showroom on Saturdays (taking for granted all the beautiful, brand-new Cadillacs surrounding me.)  I remember in the early 70's they had an audio-visual display that would project films on a screen, and there was one film all about the airbag option and how they worked.  I think I was in the 7th grade at the time, and I remember writing a report about the advent of airbags in cars complete with (poorly) hand-drawn illustrations.  I used the film in the showroom as my sole source for the report

[J. Skelly]

Is this an airbag car? 74 Talisman with no tilt.

yes, that's an airbag car;

I recall a Toronado ad where the car was totaled.  The owner stated that he was going to buy another airbag-equipped Toronado.