25 Years of Australian Safety Innovation

[Troutman]

G'day all,

I've just made a new video which gives a run-down of the technological rivalry between the local automakers that lead us to our present period of time.

Scary part is I didn't need to do a lot of research as I still remember many of the dates and figures from when I was a kid.

Cheers and enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytIVitj9aLk

[Jag530G]

Great stuff!

Goes to show how cynically Toyota treats the Australian market. As your clip shows it is a rare event when they lead the way on safety in our market but you can bet the various safety aids have already seen service on the same model Toyotas in the US market.

Holden did a very good job with the VR's driver's airbag, there were very few cars on our market at the time that had airbags. When Holden fitted it much of the rest of the market (including some premium brands) followed.

You could go back in time and include things like collapsable steering column, first fitted to the 1968 HK Holden. Optional 4 wheel disc brakes on the XB Falcon (not sure if also RPO83 on the XA, was on the XA Phase IV). Front discs were first on the HR or would it have been the XR Falcon? Spilt circuit braking about this time too.

ABS, I think the HSV VP Senator might have got in before the Falcon. There was also the "ABS" rear anti lock system on the HJ-HZ Statesman/Caprice.

Cheers, Matthew

[Woodchukka]

Nice work.

[Troutman]

Cheers guys!


you can bet the various safety aids have already seen service on the same model Toyotas in the US market.

True. One major difference with the US market was the lack of seatbelt wearing. US models had larger airbags with dangerously high inflation speed that was prone to causing other injuries. All that was needed was taking the initiative, as Holden did with the VR, and making an airbag to suit local conditions.

To be fair, though, since the Camry standardised ESP in August '07 (can't believe I've memorised that) and curtain airbags with the facelifted model, I have no complaints about their feature lists.


Holden did a very good job with the VR's driver's airbag, there were very few cars on our market at the time that had airbags. When Holden fitted it much of the rest of the market (including some premium brands) followed.

I keep hoping the VR Acclaim will be remembered as a classic car one day, despite not being a performance model. It was the 48-215 of the '90s safety movement. As I recall, Holden was typically 1 year behind the BMW 3 Series (which, for example, had dual airbags in 1994). However, the 318i cost over $40k was small, underpowered and lacked basic features like electric windows, alloy wheels and even body coloured bumpers. The value for money of local cars was outlandish at the time, which unfortunately we've struggled to sustain.


You could go back in time and include things like collapsable steering column, first fitted to the 1968 HK Holden. Optional 4 wheel disc brakes on the XB Falcon (not sure if also RPO83 on the XA, was on the XA Phase IV). Front discs were first on the HR or would it have been the XR Falcon? Spilt circuit braking about this time too.

All good points, though I admit my knowledge of that era is not so good. Thanks for making me feel young again. :D


ABS, I think the HSV VP Senator might have got in before the Falcon.

I'll stand corrected if you're right. However, what was special about the EB II was it made ABS available for a low price on a base model, albeit a basic Bendix system. The EF introduced Bosch.

Also interesting to notice the pattern with Ford being first to introduce some features (ABS, ESP, curtain airbags) yet last to standardise them across the range. When Ford stopped innovating, its death warrant was sadly signed.


There was also the "ABS" rear anti lock system on the HJ-HZ Statesman/Caprice.

I read about that on Wikipedia. I think even the Mercedes S Class didn't get ABS until about 1978. Nonetheless, I carefully worded my KR Verada Xi comment with "4 wheel ABS" for that reason. :)

Cheers.