You’ve seen those old news clips from the 1980s when seat belt laws began to go into effect, and how everyone reacted like the government was going to start scheduling their bathroom breaks? People used to really hate the idea of wearing seat belts, you see. So, the goal here seems to have been to make a car that, in the event of a collision, provided the same level of protection as wearing safety belts, but without having to deal with the crass indignity and unforgivable loss of personal freedom that comes from (checks notes) wearing seat belts. PROTECTION IN THE REAR SEATS IS EQUIVALENT TO THAT PROVIDED BY SEAT BELTS BUT PROTECTION FOR THE DRIVER AND FRONT SEAT PASSENGER IS PROBABLY LESS. THIS CAR WAS PRODUCED BY FORD IN CONJUNCTION WITH TRRL IN 1974 AS AN ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE SAME LEVEL OF PROTECTION AS IS OBTAINED FROM SEAT BELTS. In case you can’t see that image, here’s the text: Really, that’s seems to be what this car was all about! Along with the car is included a small placard that explains this peculiar machine’s whole raison d’être: There were a lot of experimental safety cars being built in the 1970s, though as far as I’m aware, this is the only one whose goal seems to be to see making seat belts unnecessary. There’s a reason for that, though: this one is a one-of-a-kind experimental safety car built by Ford in conjunction with the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL). The seller was asking £19,950.00, about $25,500 in US Freedom Money, which is at least twice as much as these British Ford Cortinas usually go for. The auction has since ended, and I’m not sure if the car had sold. The other day, an Autopian reader named Luke sent us a tip about a pretty fascinating car for sale, a 1974 Ford Cortina 2000E, but a wonderfully strange one.
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