Lifeguard (automobile safety)

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1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria. The Lifeguard package was available for this model of car Ford1001.jpg
1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria. The Lifeguard package was available for this model of car

Lifeguard was the name of a 1956 safety package marketed by the Ford Motor Company.

Contents

Spurred by Robert McNamara, the Cornell University crash research program and the first year of Ford's own crash testing (1955) the Lifeguard package included:

According to some[ who? ], the buying public was unresponsive to the Lifeguard package, prompting Henry Ford II to say: McNamara is selling safety, but Chevrolet is selling cars.[ citation needed ] However, Ralph Nader and Joan Claybrook dispute this, claiming that the package was extremely popular. [8]

1957 update

    In 1957, Ford updated the Lifeguard safety package with a new frame that bowed out to completely enclose the passengers, [9] rear child-proof door locks, [10] a front hinged hood to protect against the hood flying up in the wind, and recessed knobs. [11]

    Notes

    1. Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN   978-0-7864-3229-5.
    2. "Directory Index: Ford/1956 Ford/1956_Ford_Fairlane_Brochure".
    3. "1956 Mercury Advanced Safety-03". oldcarbrochures.org. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28.
    4. Temple, David W. (2010). Full-size Fords. CarTech. ISBN   9781934709085.
    5. "Ford brochure: NEW FORD SEAT BELTS an important feature of Ford Lifeguard Design". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
    6. "1956 Crown Victoria - 1955-1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria - HowStuffWorks". HowStuffWorks. 4 September 2007.
    7. Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. October 1955.
    8. YouTube.
    9. "1957 Ford Foldout-06-07". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
    10. "1957 Ford Fairlane-22-23". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
    11. "1957 Ford Fairlane-16-17". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.

    Sources

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