Finishing First! |
| April
15, 1998 A Newsletter
By Colin
Sato Volume
2, Issue 2 |
Air Bags and
Your Safety |
| There has been a lot
of talk about the pros and cons of Air Bags (Supplemental Restraint Systems), and I would
like to take a few moments to give you an idea of how I feel about these safety devices.
Naturally, this is only my opinion, and you are free to disagree if your wish. I must
admit when the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration first discussed
implementing air bags in the early ‘80’s I was opposed to it. It was my opinion
that the government had no reason the "force" automakers to comply with the new
regulations. After all, everyone recognized that seat belts still offered more protection
in a wider variety of accidents, including frontal collisions, side impacts, and
roll-overs. I felt and still feel that we need to be responsible for our own actions, and
buckling a seat belt was so easy, I couldn’t believe any one would not comply. |
| When An Accident Happens… However, air bags have been a standard feature of
all our Acura automobiles for many years now, and it is a good idea to know a little more
about them. There is some pretty complex physics at work when a car is involved in an
accident. Say for example, a car is traveling at 30 miles per hour and it hits a solid
wall, the vehicle stops almost instantly, in about 1/10 of a second. The occupant inside
the car is also traveling at the same 30 mph, until he is stopped by the steering wheel,
or the windshield, or some other interior part.. Not a pleasant thought is it!? |
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But how much force is an
instant 30 to 0 mph deceleration? The force is equivalent to falling out of a 3rd floor
window, directly onto pavement, face first! Ouch! Remember as Wile E. Coyote knows, its
not the fall that hurts, its the sudden stop! Managing the Forces at Work…
To help the occupants survive these sudden
decelerations, Acura has engineered many safety features into the basic design of our
cars.All Acuras have computer designed "crush zones" at the front and rear of
the car. These deform in an accident allowing a more "gradual" impact, by
absorbing some of the crash energy, this lowers the rate of deceleration inside the
passenger compartment. The interiors of our cars have energy absorbing materials and
collapsible steering columns to help protect the occupants in case of a crash. |
| Seat Belts, Still the
Best Answer Seat belts have
proven time and time again to be the best at protecting occupants from the forces of a
major crash. When properly worn, these simple devices restrain you from striking the
interior of your car, and keep you "coupled" to the car allowing you to enjoy
the crash protection built into the automobile. They will restrain you in the event of a
side impact, or if you are hit from the rear. The seat belts will help keep you inside the
car if a door opened, and also keep you in place if the car rolled over |
| The Frontal Collision In a severe frontal collision, the seat belts will
lock, the lap belt keeps you from sliding under the shoulder belt, and the shoulder belt
keeps your torso and upper body in place. The belts will "play out" a little on
the reel, and also stretch a bit, this allows a more gradual deceleration for the
occupants. |
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| Once the slack is taken up,
the seat belts begin to place tremendous force on the occupants chest, and your head
continues toward the dashboard or steering wheel |
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The Air Bag Saves the
Day!. In the blink of and
eye, and almost as fast as a speeding bullet, the air bags deploy. his is your last line
of defense, and it must stop your head and chest from striking the interior of the car or
the consequences could be fatal. If you are properly belted in, the air bag will catch you
in time, then it rapidly deflates. This whole process is so fast, that inflation,
protection, and deflation happens in a fraction of a second. |
| There’s
Explosives in There! In
order for the airbag to do its job so effectively, it must deploy at speeds approaching
200mph! To achieve this rapid inflation, air bag designers turned to a small charge that
burns a chemical to produce a gas to inflate the bag. This demands respect! There have
been well documented reports of infants and small children injured or even killed by the
force of a deploying air bag. ( to be fair, most of the injuries were to children not
wearing their seat belt, or in a rear facing child seat) To protect them, never put a rear
facing child seat in the front seat of a car with a passenger air bag. If you have a front
facing child seat, the risk is reduced, but not eliminated. As a general rule, place all
child seats in the back seat, and secure the seat by the seat manufacturers instructions.
Children who have out grown their child seats should be properly belted in the rear seats.
If a child must sit in the front seat, make sure the seat is as far back as possible and
be sure to buckle that seat belt.
All Accidents are Bad!
Statistically, the odds are that you will
be involved in an accident every 6 years! Nothing can change those odds, but we can change
the degree it will affect our lives. Please help the car take care of you, always wear
your seat belt, don’t drink and drive, and we can all have a safe 1998 and beyond! |
|
Mahalo |
| Thank you for all your Support |
| As I enter my third year
here at Pflueger Acura, I would like to stop and thank each of you who have made these
last few years such a success. Many of you have expressed your appreciation of the way I
have tried to make the car buying experience a more pleasurable one by sending in cards or
letters, and am grateful my efforts have not gone unnoticed. I’d also like to mention my gratitude to all of you who have called
and set up appointments, this really helps me plan my days better, and insures I can give
each of you my undivided attention from beginning to end. On those occasions when I was
not available, if you asked for me by name, it insured I would get partial credit for your
purchase. Did you know that if you come in and go on a test drive with another sales
consultant he can claim partial credit even if you come back and get the car from me?
That's how car dealerships work. As a courtesy, always inform him that you are working
with me, or that you receive this newsletter, it makes everything easier, believe me!
We have installed a new phone system at Acura, you
can now leave a voice mail message. Don’t forget that my cellular phone also takes a
voice mail message if its turned off, although I generally have it turned on if I am away
from the dealership. The number is easy, 255-1255! There are some changes to my e-mail
address, the Compuserve address will be good for a while, but I am encouraging my friends
to move to my Road Runner address: csato@hawaii.rr.com.
That's all the news for now, once again, Thank you
very much! |
The Fastest Lap |
| The 1998 Indy Car (CART - Championship Auto Racing Teams) season is underway
and the first two races are already in the record books. Now officially known as the Fed
Ex Championship series for the PPG Cup, your favorite CART drivers and teams are taking
the "best show in motor racing" to five countries including the brand new Twin
Ring Motegi motorsports complex in Japan. This beautiful new complex was developed by
Honda, and boasts a 1.5 mile banked oval, a road racing course (built to full F1
standards), a dirt oval, and a karting track. Also
on site is a motorsports museum housing some of Hondas most prized racing memorabilia from
their 50 years as a manufacturer. You can see the first Honda Formula One car as well as
several of the late Ayrton Senna’s F-1 McLarens.
It is because we race that Acuras incorporate double wishbone suspensions, 4
valves per cylinder, 4 wheel disc brakes, variable intake systems, and of course our
patented VTEC system. Developed in Formula One on the
tight streets of Monte Carlo, and the long straight-aways of Spa, VTEC is a perfect
example of why we race. This museum is a fitting tribute to Soichiro Honda, and his
understanding that you can learn more in a weekend of racing competition, than years of
road car building. |
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