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32 - Friday, May 13, 1994 - North

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Shore News

Standard safety features
becoming more common

NO CAR ISSUE has received
as much attention in the last
few years as safety.

... OVERDRIVE

. Driven by strong consumer :
: demands for items such as airbags,

anti-lock brakes (ABS), and traction

“controls, automakers have been

- + working full steam to make these
~ma,

safety features available on more
.and more vehicles. :

While just about every car buyer
knows about airbags and ABS, not
many people know about the other |
built-in safety features that are part

of virtually all passenger vehicles,
“1? os In fact, some of these safety

items play a more.important role
“than airbags in protecting the occu-

‘pants from injury. -

‘The next time you open the hood
to inspect the oil level, take a close

. ‘look at the underside of the hood

. itself. Often, you will notice trian-
* gular notches on the edges of the
hood about halfway between the

“front and back of the hood.

The notches are in fact carefully
engineered weak spots that allow
the hood to be bent in one specific

to spot during a frontal impact. The

‘84 ACCORD SPECIAL EDIZION SEDAN

© Automatic transmission
© Air conditioning

© Am/Fm cass. w/4 speakers
¢ Front & rear mudguards

ane Oras

| NORTH VANC

66 ... not many people know about
the other built-in safety features
that are part of virtually alt
passenger vehicles. 99

_ notches force the hood to crumple
in acontrolled f shion, aliowing the
energy to dissipate rapidly.

Even though the notches look
simple and perhaps unconvincing as
a safety item, without them the
hood could be pushed right into the
cabin and quite easily decapitate the
driver and the passenger. The rear
decklid also has crumple notches.

Another potential problem dur-

. ing a frontal collision is the path
that the engine takes as it is pushed
towards the interior cabin..

Again, without any built-in solu-
tion, the engine would simply travel
straight through the firewall and
into the passenger cabin, crushing
the occupants. ;

Thanks to the work of structural
engineers, however, today’s high-
tech engines sit on computer-
designed sloped rails that force the
engine to travel downward during a
collision, so that the engine ends up
below the cabin, not inside it.

Even the door latches have a
safety design built into them. Ina,
side collision, improperly designed

_ latches could freeze up and make
the doors impossible to open from
the inside. Automotive engineers -
have solved this problem by devel-
oping wedge-shaped door latches.
These prevent the door mechanism
from getting stuck and allow the
doors to be opened with minimal
force.

The doors, by the way, have
reinforced beams inside to lessen
the force of impact further.

© Power moonroof
¢ Dual airbags
* Cup holder

If your car has ever been broken
into, you would have noticed that
the windows don’t shatter, but just
break into tiny pieces. Tempered
glass is used in all windows to mini-
mize the danger of getting injured
from large, jagged pieces of broken
glass in an accident.

The interior of a vehicle is also
full of innovative, sometimes com-
plex, safety features.

- The steering column, for exam-
ple, is designed to be both self-
aligning and energy absorbing, In
an accident, the steering column
shifis laterally and vertically as it
comes into contact with the driver,
greatly reducing the level of force
transmitted to the driver’s chest.
This system works independently of
the airbag that’s installed in the
steering wheel. . .

The instrument panel, too, is
designed to absorb energy. If you
poke the dash, you’ ll notice that it is
made of a soft, padded material.
This material cushions the impact,
should you come into direct contact
with the dash pane) during an acci-
dent.

Some cars also come equipped
with safety knee pads (located
underneath the dash), which protect
your knees during an impact, great-
ly reducing the potential for knee
fractures.

Many luxury cars’ interiors are
dressed up with elegant looking pol-
ished wood trims. If you took one

See more page 33

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AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
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if

® Digital clock
@ Center console
© Vanity mirror
® Right hand mirror

° i

we will...

* Test transmission
performance (road test)

« Replace transmission
filter

* Clean & inspecttrans.
pan

Mo

n-Thurs, 7:30a

*94 CIVIC SPECIAL EDITION SEDAN
© Automatic transmission
* Air conditioning

® Am/Fm cass. w/4 speakers
® Deluxe wheel covers

* Special identification

* Replace transmission
gasket :

’ Replace transmission
o .

« Adjust linkage as
necessary. ,

Expires May 20/94

EXTENDED HOURS OF SERVICE -

m-8:00pm Fri. & Sat. 7:30am:

4

‘94 ACCORD SPORT COUPE

© 5 spd manual transmission
© Air conditioning

© Am/Fm cass, w/4 speakers
© Front & rear mud guards

¢ Euro spoiler

* Sport alloy wheels
‘¢ Cup holder

© Dual airbags -

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