- General Motors will introduce the industry's first front center airbag on the 2013 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse, as the Detroit automaker burnishes its safety image.
- The new airbag will be standard on Acadia and Traverse models with power seats and all Enclaves.
- GM also introduced a new crash avoidance system in the 2012 GMC Terrain.
DETROIT — General Motors will introduce the industry's first front center airbag on the 2013 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse, as the Detroit automaker burnishes its safety image.
The announcement of the new airbag, along with the introduction of a new crash avoidance system in the 2012 GMC Terrain, appears to herald a new safety era for General Motors. GM kept up with safety advances, but often took a back seat to such automakers as Ford and Volvo. In 2009, Ford broke new ground with inflatable rear safety belts destined for the 2011 Ford Explorer. Volvo fearlessly underscored its longstanding commitment to safety by displaying a crashed Volvo C30 Electric at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.
GM is jostling for attention on the safety front with the front center airbag which it dramatically illustrated in a new video:
The airbag deploys from the right side of the driver's seat and positions itself between the front row seats near the center of the vehicle. The before-and-after video shows a crash dummy driver's head whipping down perilously toward the front passenger seat without the extra airbag. When the front center airbag is deployed it appears to significantly cushion the blow in a t-bone-type crash. GM said the airbag "is expected to provide benefit in rollovers," as well.
"The front center airbag is not required by federal regulation and no other airbag in passenger vehicles today offers the type of restraint and cushioning this airbag is designed to provide for front occupants," said Scott Thomas, senior staff engineer in GM's advanced restraint systems in a statement on Thursday.
GM said that so-called "far-side impact crashes" accounted for 11 percent of the belted front occupant fatalities in non-rollover crashes between 2004 and 2009 involving 1999 model year or newer vehicles, citing statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In another safety advance, GM on Thursday introduced a crash avoidance system in the 2012 GMC Terrain that uses a single camera mounted in the windshield to help drivers avoid front-end and lane departure crashes.
The system uses a high-resolution digital camera that looks for shapes of vehicles and lane markings. The system uses audible warnings and a high-mounted visual display to warn the driver if he is following another vehicle too closely, when a collision is imminent or when departing a lane without signaling first.
Inside Line says: GM takes some major strides forward when it comes to safety.
Add A Comment »
cz_75 says:
06:55 PM, 09/30/2011
Get rid of GMC altogether, not just the Arcadia, which is arguably the best looking of the three.
urbansophistic says:
04:19 PM, 09/30/2011
Damn, that's gonna be one expensive terry cloth seat to replace.
se_riously says:
09:26 AM, 09/30/2011
rayzor - I would gladly trade head or torso injuries for arm injuries.... just saying.
rayzor says:
09:09 AM, 09/30/2011
Wow, what happens if I had my arms on the center console armrest at the time when this thing blows up? I have heard of injuries sustained from the left side airbags deploying while the drivers arm is resting on the door armrest...I guess with the center air bag, one will have to keep both arms on the steering wheels at all times to avoid getting slammed by the force of deploying bags coming from both sides. This would be hard for overweight individuals where their shoulder/arms extends beyond the side of the seats...just saying
ed124c says:
09:02 AM, 09/30/2011
@msmlexis: Don't you think every car maker should consider doing this? When it comes to safety, there is no such thing as copying. And I hope that car makers don't get patents for coming up with new safety equipment.
bankerdanny says:
07:56 AM, 09/30/2011
I think we are past the point of diminishing returns on airbags.
Sure, a handful of people may be spared some additional injuries in a crash each year, but in the mean time thousands pay more for their cars, which are heavier, more complex, more expensive to repair (and thus insure), and slightly less efficient.
msmlexis says:
07:47 AM, 09/30/2011
They just copied this from Toyotas rear seat center airbag.
lions208487 says:
07:45 AM, 09/30/2011
Since GM is trying to make Chevy and Buick a world brand, get rid of the rebadged Arcadia. It's a nice SUV, but there is no need for GM to carry on there old ways with slapping on diff name plates with the same vehicle. Keep the Buick as the luxary version, and the Chevy as the middle class family mover.