Really old air bag systems..

[Logan]

A recent post on a different Cadillac site sent us searching about the old 1974 GM ACRS air bag set up..

Thought this info was interesting..

Interesting letter to the editor New York Times. February 7, 1993

"Dear Sir,

Your Jan. 17 column contained a letter from a gentleman who owns a 1974 Oldsmobile with dual air bags. "After almost 20 years," the letter said, "G.M. refuses responsibility as to whether they will actually deploy." While it doesn't surprise me that General Motors would refuse to commit itself, I do think they could have pointed out to the owner that such old cars have been tested and the air bags work fine.

We at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have crashed two 1973 Chevrolet Impalas with driver and passenger air bags. One of these barrier tests was conducted at 30 m.p.h. The car, which had been driven more than 100,000 miles and then stored for years in a shed, had to be towed to the test track. The only service it received involved replacing the battery. When crashed into the barrier, both bags deployed perfectly.

In the other test, conducted just last month at the Institute's new Vehicle Research Center, an Impala manufactured in 1972 was crashed head-on into a barrier at 25 m.p.h. This car also had been driven more than 100,000 miles, and neither the clock nor the radio worked. But the air bags worked perfectly.

General Motors has a long history of being on-again/off-again when it comes to air bags. It pioneered the bags in production cars during the 1970's. But it then fought them for the next 20 years. What's important to remember at this point is that the air bags G.M. put into those early cars worked fine -- and so do the bags in the cars of today.

BRIAN O'NEILL Arlington, Va.

Brian O'Neill is the president of the Institute for Highway Safety, a scientific and educational organization supported by the insurance industry. "

Very interesting stuff...those 1973 systems..still work..20 years latter..

More info here....

http://www.airbagcrash.com/contactusetc.html

[Bruce Nunnally]

Interesting note from Honda about airbags:

Honda Warns Against Use of Salvaged or Used Air Bags

October 04, 2007

TORRANCE, Calif. --- Honda this week released a statement warning consumers about the risks associated with the installation of used air bag components.

"The original air bag system components installed in a new Honda or Acura vehicle have been carefully designed for use in that vehicle, as have new Honda or Acura service air bag system components," the statement said. "American Honda Motor Co. Inc. (AHM) is confident that such air bag system components will help protect occupants in Honda and Acura vehicles. The installation and use of salvaged or used air bag system components in a Honda or Acura vehicle may compromise the intended performance of that vehicle's air bag system as there is no certainty of the history, quality, condition, or compatibility of a salvaged or used air bag system component."

As a result, the company "recommends that only new Honda or Acura air bag system components designed and designated for use in the specific Honda or Acura vehicle being repaired be installed in that vehicle."

[BigCat83]

You know reading this article brings a recent situation to mind. My son recently crashed and totaled his '97 Eldorado. Straight on hit in front that wiped out all the lights, crushed the hood and both fenders, bent the radiator core support and moved the engine cradle. The air bags did not deploy.

I would think they would have with the amount of damage to his car...