I agree. It also points out that with the extra costs in manufacturing
this equipment, the price tag goes up, squandering one of the original
purposes of the Peoples Car - a reliable, simple, and VERY affordable
automobile. There is still not such a critter on the market today - even
with the re-introduction of the Beetle.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Gibbons [SMTP:dgibbons@presray.com]
> Sent: Thursday, September 17, 1998 4:23 PM
> To:   Vanagon@vanagon.com
> Subject:      Safety and cost
>
> Lots of talk today on DRL's and air bags and other safety features on
> our VW's.
>
> DRL's are not free. They cost energy to run. Someday the God of
> Thermodynamics
> will come down and say: "Thou shalt not use more energy then you find"
> We live
> on a finite and slightly damp hunk of rock. When the oil runs out what
> will we
> do?  Instead of just the knee-jerk reaction that if its "safer its
> better" at
> any cost, they (we) should consider a more long term solution like
> driver
> education.
>
> Air bags are, at the moment, very complicated. Do race cars use them?
> Do our
> most advanced aircraft use them? No and no. They depend on a harness
> system that
> is almost utterly failproof. As long as its put on properly it works.
> A few
> seconds of a racers or fighter pilots time saves thousands of $ and
> works better
> then air bags. We don't have them in cars because we are too lazy to
> use them
> and don't want to be reminded how dangerious cars are. The general
> public
> "wants" an invisible and automatic safety system and the automakers
> have
> provided them with an expensive system that is not appropriate for
> mass everday
> use in cars. How many drivers will stop driving their cars because the
> airbag
> failure light is on and it will take $1,500 to fix?
>
> The old Beetle (or bus) had 2 electric motors, one for the starter and
> one for
> the wipers.
> The new Beetle has at least 8 and as many as 13. Probably more. And
> airbags.
> They (we) have forgotten that all these gagets not only cost money to
> buy but
> also consumes irreplacable natural resourses to make. And recycling
> has not yet
> become effective enough to fix it.
>
> The now common safety cage and deformable safety zone construction
> cost little
> in materials or energy. Ideas like that are what we need today, not
> another
> computerized or electric gizmo.