SAFETY BUILT IN

Year Published: 1957

Description:

This black and white adverting film about safety built-in to the 1957 Chevrolet cars is presented by Chevrolet dealers and is a Jam Handy Picture. The film attempts to present safety innovations featured in the car, and while there are some, hindsight reveals that the cars of the 1950s were woefully equipped to meet accidents. Few if any were equipped with seat belts, and the Bel Air (like many cars of its era) had protruding items on the dash board, a telescoping steering wheel column the could crush a driver in a crash, and a solid, non-breaking steering wheel among other things.

A 1920s dressed man drives a 1920 Chevrolet FB-50 Touring car now a 1950s street (:07-1:00). The image is replaced with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1:01-1:35). The female driver’s 1957 bow pump shoe is shown up-close on the gas pedal and then moves to the power brake (1:39-1:43). The large steering wheel is shown, followed by an up-close view of the ventilation button choices (1:44-1:52). The turn signal at the back of the tail fin is shown blinking (1:53-1:55). Her finger pushes in the automatic windshield washer button, turning the electric wipers on. The new larger windshield is compared to one from 1937 with the strip down the middle and corner posts, 1949 is the same with curvier glass, 1953 has no center strip, 1955 has tipped the corner posts back, and the 1957 version as one large windshield made of safety plate glass without the blind spots in the structure (1:56-2:40). The Bel Air continues driving on a highway. The female driver wears a white-collared striped blouse. She is showing pressing the brake pedal, steering, and pressing the gas pedal (2:41-3:03). The close-up is on one of the white-wall tires. The Bel Air logo is clearly seen. The inner mechanism of rivet-less bonded brake linings are shown. The Bel Air comes to a smooth stop on the road instead of the jerky stop of a 1940s car (3:04-3:44). Her hands grip the steering wheel in the proper position, and the dashboard is seen (3:45-3:57). To illustrate car balance, an upside-down glass bottle is easily knocked over by a spoon. When hit with the base of the bottle on the table, it doesn’t fall over. The lowering of the center of gravity in car bodies is illustrated. A Bel Air makes a tight turn around a corner on a cone track (3:58-4:50). Weigh distribution is illustrated with a box that swings out on a turn when one end is weighted heavier than the other. The new Chevy is weigh balanced just a little behind center. A Chevy drives past on the highway (4:51-5:44). A 1940s car has one front wheel drift off the edge of the concrete road and the car reacts. The 1957 Chevy repeats this action and smoothly gets back on the road, shown from the side and back views (5:45-6:45). A truck unexpectedly pulls out onto the highway and the driver quickly accelerates to pass it. A 1930s car’s back tire is stuck in mud. Posit traction is illustrated on the 1957 Chevy and it easily escapes the mud (6:46-7:35). A long-shot is of many cars on a busy highway with an overpass. The woman’s reflection is shown in her side-view mirror. Other male and female faces are shown in the mirror. A blank mirror is shown to imagine your face in it, driving the Bel Air (7:36-8:48).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

Complete Record: This black and white adverting film about safety built-in to the 1957 Chevrolet cars is presented by Chevrolet dealers and is a Jam Handy Picture. The film attempts to present safety innovations featured in the car, and while there are some, hindsight reveals that the cars of the 1950s were woefully equipped to meet accidents. Few if any were equipped with seat belts, and the Bel Air (like many cars of its era) had protruding items on the dash board, a telescoping steering wheel column the could crush a driver in a crash, and a solid, non-breaking steering wheel among other things. A 1920s dressed man drives a 1920 Chevrolet FB-50 Touring car now a 1950s street (:07-1:00). The image is replaced with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1:01-1:35). The female driver’s 1957 bow pump shoe is shown up-close on the gas pedal and then moves to the power brake (1:39-1:43). The large steering wheel is shown, followed by an up-close view of the ventilation button choices (1:44-1:52). The turn signal at the back of the tail fin is shown blinking (1:53-1:55). Her finger pushes in the automatic windshield washer button, turning the electric wipers on. The new larger windshield is compared to one from 1937 with the strip down the middle and corner posts, 1949 is the same with curvier glass, 1953 has no center strip, 1955 has tipped the corner posts back, and the 1957 version as one large windshield made of safety plate glass without the blind spots in the structure (1:56-2:40). The Bel Air continues driving on a highway. The female driver wears a white-collared striped blouse. She is showing pressing the brake pedal, steering, and pressing the gas pedal (2:41-3:03). The close-up is on one of the white-wall tires. The Bel Air logo is clearly seen. The inner mechanism of rivet-less bonded brake linings are shown. The Bel Air comes to a smooth stop on the road instead of the jerky stop of a 1940s car (3:04-3:44). Her hands grip the steering wheel in the proper position, and the dashboard is seen (3:45-3:57). To illustrate car balance, an upside-down glass bottle is easily knocked over by a spoon. When hit with the base of the bottle on the table, it doesn’t fall over. The lowering of the center of gravity in car bodies is illustrated. A Bel Air makes a tight turn around a corner on a cone track (3:58-4:50). Weigh distribution is illustrated with a box that swings out on a turn when one end is weighted heavier than the other. The new Chevy is weigh balanced just a little behind center. A Chevy drives past on the highway (4:51-5:44). A 1940s car has one front wheel drift off the edge of the concrete road and the car reacts. The 1957 Chevy repeats this action and smoothly gets back on the road, shown from the side and back views (5:45-6:45). A truck unexpectedly pulls out onto the highway and the driver quickly accelerates to pass it. A 1930s car’s back tire is stuck in mud. Posit traction is illustrated on the 1957 Chevy and it easily escapes the mud (6:46-7:35). A long-shot is of many cars on a busy highway with an overpass. The woman’s reflection is shown in her side-view mirror. Other male and female faces are shown in the mirror. A blank mirror is shown to imagine your face in it, driving the Bel Air (7:36-8:48). Motion picture films don't last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. We collect, scan and preserve 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies -- including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have films you'd like to have scanned or donate to Periscope Film, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the link below. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

Transcription

[Music] [Applause] [Music] folks meet gwendelyn and don't laugh she's a little bit beyond her prime now her figure isn't what it used to be she's bulging a little at the seams but there was a time and it wasn't so long ago either when she was the snappiest thing on the road and you'd have been proud to be sitting up there behind that racy dashboard yes sir 40 years is at to make quite a change in any one of us but seriously what do you think the biggest change has been in cars in 40 years style appearance power yes but some of the most important changes have come in something else safety every year more and more safety has been buil into the cars we drive and many of the driving risks we once considered unavoidable are now almost completely eliminated take the obvious features that increase safety by lessening driver fatigue easier stopping through improved brakes both standard and power operated easier handling because of ball bearing and power steering High Lev ventilation automatic signals for stopping and turning automatic windshield washers electric wipers plus the improved vision of the windshield itself remember what the windshield was like just 20 years ago remember the strip down the middle the blind spot in the corner by 1949 the glass has started to curve the area is widening by 1953 the center divider strip has disappeared by 1955 the corner post has begun to tip back backwards to eliminate the blind spot and today almost 1100 square in of Glass safety plate glass but there are other safety advances that are even more important safety features that are engineered into the very heart of a car buil in safety in any driving situation there are three things we can do we can stop we can steer around or we can accelerate past the obstacle the decision rests with us the ability to do it rests with a car let's see first what's been done to cars in regard to stopping power four-wheel self-energizing hydraulic brakes which means that the forward momentum of the car actually helps apply braking action plus rivetless bonded brake linings 7 in brake drums and the modern anti-dive suspension system that brings the car to a smooth stop like this instead of like this but suppose stopping is Impractical and we have to steer around the obstacle ahead how well that car steers Depends for one thing on how well balanced it is and what does an upside down bottle have to do with a car's balance plenty watch didn't take much to knock it over did it but now look we'll put it in this position same Force exactly but the bottle remains standing because its weight is concentrated down low it has a lower center of gravity a principle that applies equally to Automobiles and the steady effort of Manufacturers to build cars closer and closer to the ground has not been for appearance's sake alone but for safety to lower the center of gravity the result is that today's car can do things that would have stood gwindel in on a re but there's another factor in the balance of a car that means safety it's called weight distribution pretend this box is an automobile it is perfectly balanced because its weight is evenly distributed front and back but suppose we put too much weight in the back the weighted rear ends swings out on the turn now too much weight in the front end trouble again the heavy front end tends to keep going straight so let's put that weight right where it belongs just a little behind dead center a smooth easy turn because now it's correctly balanced by the same principle a modern car's weight is balanced just a little behind Center balance that means safety in steering and here's something else remember what used to happen when you accidentally let your front wheel drift off the edge of the concrete you were all over the road but today a world of difference you to Modern WID tread low press Tires Plus spherical joint front suspension that takes the turns and resists the RS plus Outrigger rear suspension with springs set wide apart to provide even more stability add to all this a kind of steering that is based on the principle that the most effort motion we know is that of a rolling ball put that principle to work to create ballbearing steering and you have another safety item where your security depends on your steering our third alternative for meeting a driving situation is in accelerating under the hood of today's car is a tremendous reserve of power to meet just such situations as this power you may never actually need but but which is mighty good to have in case you ever do getting power to the rear wheels efficiently and effectively is another factor in acceleration remember how it used to be if one wheel spun the other one wouldn't turn today that's changed with a new safety feature now available posit traction when one wheel loses traction power is instantly shifted over to the other wheel posit traction more safety through more effective use of engine power yes one of the most important changes in cars over the years has been in the building into them of greater and greater safety increased stopping power increased stability improved performance all around but with all that's been done there's one part of the car that no amount of engineering can do anything about the man or woman whose hands are on the wheel and whose face is in the mirror how much safety is built into him or her how much courtesy will he bring to the road how much consideration how much care how much attention yes tremendous changes have been made in that car of yours changes that make it safer more dependable more responsive than ever before and when as much has been done for the driver as has been done for the car we'll all be in safer hands how about you how do you fit into this [Music] picture

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