We Are Lucky....

[TexasLexus94]

I posted the following last May during a safety discussion:

Thank you for your very detailed history of seat restraints, air bags and auto locks, 90LS400Lexus. I've learned a lot.

Please keep in mind, however, that most major safety modifications and added safety improvements to our cars by the mfrs. seem to be dictated by government requirements-not by the mfrs. Sad to say, but very recent consumer tests show that side air bags front and rear help save lives-But they save mostly wealthier lives, since full side air bags are a costly "add-on".

But at least your doors will be locked when you are broadsided.....

My real concern is that Detroit seems to implement safety improvements only after being prodded by the government. The other day, I read that the government is going to force car makers to make window switches that prevent a small child from kneeling on an armrest, and accidently activating the up switch - to cause the window to close, and subsequently strangle the small child. I thought this was overkill-I mean my '94 LS requires you to lift up the window control, in order to close the window. A 10-11 year old car.

But guess what? I rented a 2004 Chevy Malibu the other day, and it had the same old up/down toggle switch, meaning a child could kneel on it, poke his head out, and be killed! Shame on you, GM. And shame on anyone who says "You just need to keep control of your child." An active toddler needs to be protected as much as possible.

I hated "Roger and Me", the documentary by that Fatso-but I'm afraid he was right-Profits are everything to Detroit. If you've ever wondered why GM's share of the market has gone from 51% to 27%-this is a prime example.

[99lsguy]

Well said Texas!!!!!!!

It's sooooooooooo logical isn't it:

you press the button DOWN to put the window down....

you press/lift the button UP to put the window up........

and nobody gets hurt..............

But good old GM is too CHEAP and arcaic to change their 30-40 year old design

Their cars are junk (although with a few exception) - they know it; and we know it.

[SKperformance]

I agree with GM and their garbage, $40 for 8 stupid rubber band seals for a fuel injector set, what kind of cripe is that for pricing.

I have my wifes on the driveway for 4 weeks as i am so *BLEEP*ed at putting more than a cent in that pos anymore.

I have spent more in repairs on a 97 than i have ever on my 94 lex.

why am i not suprised.

Funny enough even benz has the same stupid style switches on their cars and do not have a cover on the switches that curl up over the side to prevent them from being pressed inadvertantly.

[91LS4ME]

Well said Texas!!!!!!!

It's sooooooooooo logical isn't it:

you press the button DOWN to put the window down....

you press/lift the button UP to put the window up........

and nobody gets hurt..............

But good old GM is too CHEAP and arcaic to change their 30-40 year old design

Their cars are junk (although with a few exception) - they know it; and we know it.

I guess logic isn't their best suite.

(I know this rant is off topic, but it does have something to do with arcaic thinking)

Metric system is simple & logical...everything in multiples of 10.. whole world uses it... yet these guys are stuck on standard. that otta tell you about their ability to change.

Jay

[SRK]

Let's not smear them with too big a brush. Claiming that the Imperial system of measurement is at fault is a bit much. The French developed the metric system - so go buy a Puegot in your reasoning.

I have a 94 Camaro as well as the Lexus. Sure some stuff breaks, but the power steering pump has the same oil in it from the factory, works fine, doesn't leak. The leather on the steering wheel has stood up far better than that on the Lexus. And it brakes and AC are outstanding.

As to window switches, if your toddler is standing or kneeling on the armrest, I hope the car is stopped. Just why they would be do that even with the car stationary is beyond me, with the ignition on so the windows work. Here in Canada when a small child is in the car, they must be in a car seat and restrained. That's the law. It's a good one.

I've raised two kids - no problems with window switches. Seems to me to be a rather foolish thing to worry about considering all the other stuff kids get into.

[TexasLexus94]

Gee, SRK, I guess Canadians are just smarter than Americans. Must be the Moose meat. Then again, your windows are up 10 months of the year-Brr, brr....Can't stick the head oot....

Please read, from CBS News July 6, 2004:

At least seven American children have died in the last 3 months, strangled in accidents involving power windows. But the danger is no secret to carmakers or the federal government. Consumer advocates have been pushing for safer power windows for almost a decade.

The danger lies in power-window switches found on many American cars that can be easily activated by accident.

The solution? It already exists in every foreign car sold in America: safer, lever-type switches required by law overseas that are virtually impossible to activate accidentally.

You wrote-

"Seems to me to be a rather foolish thing to worry about considering all the other stuff kids get into."

Really?

[SRK]

Well let's see. Three months at a rate of 50,000 traffic deaths per 12 months. That's 12,500 traffic deaths in that period, and 7 deaths as a percentage would be .00056%. Far more children have died as a result of not being restrained in proper car seats in that time. This concern over switches is media driven, and not driven by facts or by ease of solution. I am not sure that Canadians are smarter, but we do like to have laws restricting freedom of choice, which I know many of my American relatives do not like. Car seats for children being one of them.

I don't eat moose meat, but I have enjoyed Reindeer on occasion. It is a very festive main course, especially around Christmas.....

[TexasLexus94]

Every state in the US has car seat laws-They vary only in the specific age requirement for the child to be restrained. Here is Texas' law:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a passenger car or light truck and transports a child who is younger than five years of age and less than 36 inches in height and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system

I think you're right that the US cherishes individual rights-I live where there is no fog, snow and little rain-But there are still cars here with daytime running lights that cannot be overridden. Why, I can't imagine-Thank you, Canada.

[jschunke]

Don't American made cars have

a power window override where

the driver can disable all the

passenger windows? Even with

the pull switch there's a chance

of accident. The override is by

far the best safety solution.