30 Years of the Airbag

An air padded cushion protecting against an impact. The airbag celebrates its 30th birthday. In 1980 Mercedes-Benz revolutionized occupant safety.

• Category

  Autos & Vehicles

[gotham61]

I love Mercedes Benz, but I hate it when they stretch the truth about innovations.

The airbag was not "first put into series production by Mercedes Benz." It was offered as an option starting in 1974 by General Motors on full sized Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile cars. This was not just a small experimental fleet, thousands of cars were fitted with the ACRS (Air Cushion Restraint System) option.

Don't get me started on Mercedes' claims about being the first to offer anti-lock brakes.

[daimler]

Our claim to be the first manufacturer to have introduced both these systems is based on the fact that we developed these technologies to the production stage, introduced reliable and effectively functioning systems and, since the moment of introducing them, have never stopped offering them. We were therefore the ones to make such systems available to the customer. This leadership position is acknowledged by automotive journalists and automobile historians all over the world. (Part 3 of 3)

[daimler]

The airbag was not, however, offered by these manufacturers until quite some years later. Ford and General Motors offered anti-lock braking systems for the rear wheels in 1970, but these of course could never be as effective as a four-wheel system. In 1971, Chrysler introduced a four-wheel system that lacked reliability and so was discontinued after just two years. (Part 2 of 3)

[daimler]

Hello gotham61,

Thank you for your comment.

We are conscious of the fact that, in addition to Mercedes-Benz, other manufacturers also undertook research into and testing of these technologies. In some cases production models or near-series vehicles were equipped with such systems: Ford started large-scale testing of the airbag with a fleet of more than 800 cars in 1972, General Motors followed one year later with a batch of 1000 cars. (Part 1 of 3)

[22didge]

I owned a 1974 olds delta 88 that came with factory airbags... so yes you are correct!!! Mercedes was not the first or the best system.

In my service manual collection, I have the OEM shop manual for 1974 GM airbag service.

[gotham61]

There were many other early anti-lock brake systems offered besides the Ford and GM rear wheel only setups. The Jensen FF had a 4 wheel mechanical system starting in 1966, The Nissan President had a 4 wheel electronic system in 1971, and the early 1970s Chrysler Imperials had a 4 wheel electronic anti-lock option called Sure-Brake. Again, you may say that these don't count these if you believe continuous implementation is a requirement to be called "first."

[gotham61]

I appreciate your position, but that's a lot of qualifiers you've included in your definition of "first." I deliberately did not include the Ford and GM test fleets in my comment, because they were just that. The 1975-76 GM ACRS option was available to anyone who bought one of the included models, so it cannot be considered a test fleet. If the fact that they discontinued it after 1976 disqualifies them in your eyes, then so be it.