Re: IML: Gearshift quadrants, side marker lights, etc.

["Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

I agree that the AMA did not have the power to force any firm to adopt any
equipment, which I why I stated, " It was the AMA that pushed for .. . "

Safety had been pushed by auto manufacturer long before Ford's infamous year
of safety in 1956.  Chrysler was bragging about the safety of its instrument
panels with no protrusions in 1937.  All switches and levers were flush with
the surface (unlike their 1940's instrument panels).  For 1939 Chrysler
introduced their Safety Speedometer, that glowed green, yellow or red
depending on speed.  It was copied by GM twenty years later.  In 1949
Chrysler introduced the padded instrument panel and safety window
regulators - the ends folded flush with the handle.   Nash had seat belts in
1950.  Kaiser had a padded instrument panel and a pop-out windshield in
1951.

And Lee Iacocca proved that you could sell Fords in 1956 - he made himself
noticed in Dearborn with his sales records in Pennsylvania.  Although Ford
and other claim it was safety that sunk Ford, compare the Chevrolet and Ford
in 1955 and 1956.  Can you tell a 1955 Ford from a 1956 from the front, side
and back?  How about a Chevrolet?  Chevrolet sold cars in 1956 because
buyers knew their neighbours would know they had a new car no matter which
way they parked in the driveway.  The major difference between a 1955 and
1956 Ford was the parking light shape.  A 1956 Chevrolet did not look like
last year's car.  IMHO, that was why Ford stumbled in 1956 and sold like
crazy in 1957 when Ford had a brand new body while Chevrolet did not.

After 1956, Rambler and Cadillac introduced dual braking systems in 1962,
followed in 1963 by Studebaker, who also made seat belts and padded
instrument panel standard.   All American manufacturers had padded
instrument panels, seat belts, outside driver's mirror and backup lights as
standard in 1966 and all had dual braking systems for 1967.

Granted not all manufacturers offered all the equipment I quoted as
standard, but the majority did.  It was usually the lower priced models that
skimped on them.  In the late 1980's the lowest-priced Diplomat and Gran
Fury had the day-night interior mirror listed as optional equipment.

Bill
Vancouver, BC



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark McDonald" <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 8:59 PM
Subject: Re: IML: Gearshift quadrants, side marker lights, etc.


Dear Bill,

While it seems that most of what you say here is correct and I
certainly agree with you that the Federal government did not cause the
end of the pushbutton transmission, there are a few statements you make
here that are a bit inaccurate, I believe.

First of all, you state:

> Even
> side marker lights/reflectors were not the result of any federal law,
> which
> is why Chrysler products had lights in 1968 and reflectors in 1969.

This is not true.  Side marker lamps were mandated by the Federal
government with the introduction of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 108, which went into effect on January 1, 1968.  Many other
safety systems were also mandated by this first FMVSS, such as seat
belts.

The purpose of side marker lights, or reflectors, was to increase the
"conspicuity" of vehicles when viewed from the side at night-- in other
words, to make them more visible at night when they are entering the
roadway from a side street (to avoid side collisions).

> Same as well for the adoption of such items as seat belts, padded
> dashboards, anti-glare paint on dashboards and windshield surrounds,
> day-night mirrors, driver's outside rearview mirrors, backup lights,
> dual
> braking systems - all these either appeared on cars or were approved
> for
> production  prior to the enactment of the above acts due to the AMA.

While it is true that some manufacturers independently adopted or
elected to use the safety devices you mention, that does not mean that
all of them did-- many did not.  When Ford decided to use safety as its
marketing theme in 1956 it was widely believed to have failed
miserably, a belief which discouraged other manufacturers from jumping
on "the safety bandwagon" for years afterwards.  It also should not be
construed from your remarks that these devices were brought into being
by the AMA, which had no power to make any manufacturer conform to its
wishes.  None of these devices became standard equipment on all
American cars until they were required by Federal law.

Mark M


On Wednesday, October 12, 2005, at 08:55 PM, Bill Watson wrote:

>
> You would have a hard time finding the law that outlawed Chrysler's
> pushbuttons as there was no such law.  The American federal government
> did
> not have the right to pass any legislation regarding auto equipment or
> safety regulations until the enactment of the National Traffic and
> Motor
> Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act in 1966.  Those laws
> enabled
> the American government to establish the Department of Transportation
> and
> proceed to pass a multitude of laws concerning auto and highway
> safety..
>
> Chrysler dropped the pushbuttons for marketing reasons.  Although
> Chrysler
> owners loved the buttons, GM and Ford owners were not so positive about
> them. And if Chrysler wanted a bigger share of the American market,
> they
> would have to entice GM and Ford owners to buy Chrysler.  And thus the
> buttons died.
>
> There were no standards set for automatic transmission gear selection
> in the
> 1960's, contrary to what many believe.  The P-R-N-D-L or P-R-N-D-2-1
> quadrant was the accepted format for the Big Three - even Chrysler's
> pushbuttons were R-B-D-2-l - but Studebaker hung onto the P-N-D-L-R
> quadrant
> to the very end in 1966.  And Corvair's standard gear selector for its
> Powerglide was a dash-mounted lever, just like Chrysler in 1955.  And
> next
> time you get on a newer model transit bus - Gillig, Flyer, Orion,
> etc., ask
> the driver to shift his bus into neutral and then back into a forward
> gear.
> Watch him use pushbuttons to do it.
>
> Until the passing of the above two laws, the Automobile Manufacturers
> Association was the big power.  It was the AMA that pushed for the
> adoption
> of sealed beam headlamps in 1939 and the quad headlamp system in
> 1956-57.
> Again, it was not the federal government that approved them as they
> had no
> power over such matters until 1966.
>
> Same as well for the adoption of such items as seat belts, padded
> dashboards, anti-glare paint on dashboards and windshield surrounds,
> day-night mirrors, driver's outside rearview mirrors, backup lights,
> dual
> braking systems - all these either appeared on cars or were approved
> for
> production  prior to the enactment of the above acts due to the AMA.
> Even
> side marker lights/reflectors were not the result of any federal law,
> which
> is why Chrysler products had lights in 1968 and reflectors in 1969.
>
> If you want to know what the federal government does say about
> transmission
> shift lever sequence, below is a quote from their regulations, first
> announced December 2, 1971, and not sometime in 1963 or 1964:
> .
>> From the Department of Transportation, Title 49: Transportation, [36
>> FR
> 22902, Dec. 2, 1971, as amended at 54 FR 29045, July 11, 1989; 56 FR
> 12471,
> Mar. 26, 1991; 60 FR 13642, March 14, 1995]  -
>
> "PART 571-FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS
> "Subpart B-Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
>
> "§ 571.102   Standard No. 102; Transmission shift lever sequence,
> starter
> interlock, and transmission braking effect.
>
> "S3.1.4  Identification of shift lever positions.
>
> "S3.1.4.1  Except as specified in S3.1.4.3, if the transmission shift
> lever
> sequence includes a park position, identification of shift lever
> positions,
> including the positions in relation to each other and the position
> selected,
> shall be displayed in view of the driver whenever any of the following
> conditions exist:
>
> "(a) The ignition is in a position where the transmission can be
> shifted.
>
> "(b) The transmission is not in park.
>
> "S3.1.4.2  Except as specified in S3.1.4.3, if the transmission shift
> lever
> sequence does not include a park position, identification of shift
> lever
> positions, including the positions in relation to each other and the
> position selected, shall be displayed in view of the driver whenever
> the
> ignition is in a position in which the engine is capable of operation.
>
> "S3.1.4.3  Such information need not be displayed when the ignition is
> in a
> position that is used only to start the vehicle.
>
> "S3.1.4.4  Effective September 23, 1991, all of the information
> required to
> be displayed by S3.1.4.1 or S3.1.4.2 shall be displayed in view of the
> driver in a single location. At the option of the manufacturer,
> redundant
> displays providing some or all of the information may be provided."
>
>
> As you can see, there is no concern as to the order the gears are
> displayed,
> only their visibility to the driver, with and without a park position
>
> Bill
> Vancouver, BC
>



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