| The Chevrolet Blazer two door, manufactured by General Motors, has the highest driver death rate of any other passenger vehicle on the road in the United States. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has based the finding on an extensive study of passenger vehicles from the 1999 to the 2002 model years. The study itself focused on the rate of deaths of drivers in various types of vehicle crashes. The overall driver death rates for the 199 vehicles studied was 87 per million. The Chevy Blazer two door weighed in at three times the overall average rate with an average of 308 driver deaths per million. The Blazer also had the highest rate of deaths involving drivers in rollover accidents. That death rate was 251 per million.
Cars in history:
The automobile of the period of general prosperity:
In 1959, designs, patented (patent DBP 854157) by the company "Daimler-Benz" for increasing the safety of automobiles during accidents have undergone numerous tests for frontal impact. The accumulated experience has allowed putting into practice in 1965 the concept of the safe automobile in the serial model "В111" by the company "Daimler-Benz". This step marked the occurrence of a new tendency in automobile engineering.
Other important innovations of the company "Daimler-Benz" introduced during these years were the system of direct injection of fuel. The company started the serial production of vehicles with the engines having such a power supply system in 1954. The supply of fuel was controlled by mechanical devices and was not completely perfect. It became famous 45 years later, when electronic devices were used for controlling the injection.
This example is the bright evidence to show, how technical progress in one of the areas of engineering (in this case electronics) gives new life to the progressive ideas in other areas. A similar case has taken place with the development of a design of automobile headlights. The long-term research of electric companies "Sibye" in France and "Phillips" in Holland helped to create a very powerful "halogen" lights. (By using the vapors of the halogen group of elements) The automobile headlights based on them with a powerful light stream since 1964 became famous first as the goods of 'after market' and then as serial equipment.
The hydro-pneumatic suspension bracket of wheels ("Sitroen", 1956), V-belt infinite variator in transmission (DAF, 1958), the rotor-piston engine on serial automobiles (HCU), the units of the chassis, which do not require servicing during the time of operation of the automobile ("Cadillac" and "Craisler", 1966) were also served as important stages in the evolution of the automobile.
A book by American lawyer R.Neidera “Dangerous at any speed”, which made a lot of noise in 1965, riveted the attention of the public and also experts on a problem of safety. A logical result of this publication in 1966 was that seat belts became the obligatory equipment for all American cars. Safety steering columns, a separate drive of brakes, and headrests on seats were followed by the seat belts.
The sixtieth years are marked with unprecedented scope of release of front drive automobiles. The layout decisions with the power unit located across a body (“Morris Mini”, 1959, "Autobyanki" 1964) began to be copied by many firms. Gradually the majority of the French, Italian, German, Japanese and American models have become front drive vehicles.
The original revolution in automobile engineering in the middle of the 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s took place under the growing influence of electronics. German electronics company "Bosch" in 1967 started methodical implementation of a “Jetronics” system for controlling the fuel injection for a serial of models by different firms. The anti blocking system in a drive of brakes was implemented for automobiles by "Mercedes-Benz" in 1970. The microprocessor automatically operated it. The microprocessor system was used for the ignition on the American vehicles "Oldsmobile" (“General Motors”) in 1976.
Production of automobiles in the 1960s underwent (first of all in the USA and Japan) thorough reorganization. For assembly operations, robots, which function with electronic control systems, were used. Operations related to the submission of component parts of a required type on to conveyor and the welding and painting of bodies were also executed under electronic control.
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