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I always thought it was the Honda Legend from 1990. Does anybody know of any earlier examples?
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what about a volvo? they seem to be at the leading edge of safety stuff or it could have been something german.
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I'm guessing it was the Mercedes W126 S-Class in 1981.
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Was it actually sold in the UK though? I know in America they have had cars with airbags for decades, its been law since 1987 over there.
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A google search suggests it was the Porsche 944 turbo - in 1987.
The Merc W126 was in 1980, but only in Germany.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag
EDIT - ignore the first sentence, the Porsche was the first to have drivers and passenger airbags in 1987
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/08/2009 at 22:14
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Was it actually sold in the UK though? I know in America they have had cars with airbags for decades its been law since 1987 over there.
It's been law since 1993 in the US.
The first cars with airbags appeared, accompanied by high profile marketing, in the US in the 70s. But they used compressed air rather than pyrotechnics and were deemed to have caused several deadly accidents so were quietly withdrawn from sale.
As far as I know, Mercedes (actually one of their suppliers) is credited with inventing the modern type of airbag and launching it worldwide in the W126.
To avoid appearing too much like a train spotter I would like to point out that a mate of mine works for an airbag supplier and so is full of this sort of information.
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1967 Chrysler, according to Wikepedia. US of course, not UK.
Not counting early motoring mothers-in-law :)
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Found these 10-year-old stories that were on the BBC website:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/319505.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/319218.stm
which perhaps indicate the progress that has been made since on airbag design.
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|First one I drove was a Mondeo in 93.
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I've driven an '84 W126 with an airbag on the steering wheel but it wasn't standard fit on all cars. The car I drove was a five litre job, definitely a UK supplied car.
I expect it had an airbag because it was at the top of the range.
I drove a '99 Rover Mini with an airbag. The angle of the wheel made me determined not to crash. An airbag deployment would probably have been like an uppercut.
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Nice point Battles ;-) If the steering wheel cant be adjusted, then the airbag might prove less than beneficial.
Even worse is people who like to drive bunched up to the wheel with it virtually resting on their knees, as my 6ft tall father-in-law does. If the bag triggered in his Mk2 Mondeo, I dont think it would reach to his face.
Interesting to note how compact airbags have become. The passenger airbag (optional) in my 1994 Merc W124 E-class replaces what would've been a glovebox. Lord knows how big that is, should it ever be deployed....hopefully not.
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I have an airbag wheel in the garage, the child in me wants to connect it to 12V
:o)
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Do it with a remote switch :). Make sure you stand well back make sure its done outside :p. I am not sure how much amps an airbag would require though.
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I'd not try it. It does not take much to trigger one when fitted to a car - hence difficult to fault find.
Remember they transport new airbags to dealers in a metal container and a dealer does not keep an airbag in stock.
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