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I worked for Jaguar Land Rover for a number of years and we couldn’t bring the Defender to the US (I was told) because it lacked a proper airbag on the steering

I worked for Jaguar Land Rover for a number of years and we couldn’t bring the Defender to the US (I was told) because it lacked a proper airbag on the steering wheel. I’m sure it was slightly more complicated than that, but it makes for great story of regulation gone awry.

jefftk 4y ago
> it makes for great story of regulation gone awry How so? A driver side airbag sounds like an important safety feature.
- sircastor 4y ago
  Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that I don’t think a driver’s side airbag is not worth it, I’m sure it is. But if that’s all it was, surely we would’ve just put a different steering wheel in the American version. The reality is probably more complicated, but it gets stuffed into this little anecdote.
  - SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
    Airbag unit itself, module, and the calibration for it. They need to smash a bunch of vehicles to do calibration. It’s not really worth it in the case of vehicles where development was shut down a long time ago.
    - rascul 4y ago
      I've heard that introducing a vehicle into the US market can be an expensive and time consuming process. Some of those foreign vehicles look interesting, though.
- ActorNightly 4y ago
  Safety features for personal protection shouldn't be the reason why you can or cannot drive a car.
pc86 4y ago
I'm not sure how to get from "deemed [some debatable combination of] unsafe and/or illegal to drive on the road" to "regulation gone awry." Would you say the same thing if it had been made without seatbelts or a driver's side mirror?
turndown 4y ago
Ah yes, the classic “Of course the company has its customer’s safety in mind” argument everyone agrees with heartily.
mcphage 4y ago
> because it lacked a proper airbag on the steering wheel Coming up with a new steering wheel for the US seems significantly cheaper than redesigning a new vehicle.

jefftk 4y ago

> it makes for great story of regulation gone awry How so? A driver side airbag sounds like an important safety feature.

sircastor 4y ago
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that I don’t think a driver’s side airbag is not worth it, I’m sure it is. But if that’s all it was, surely we would’ve just put a different steering wheel in the American version. The reality is probably more complicated, but it gets stuffed into this little anecdote.
- SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
  Airbag unit itself, module, and the calibration for it. They need to smash a bunch of vehicles to do calibration. It’s not really worth it in the case of vehicles where development was shut down a long time ago.
  - rascul 4y ago
    I've heard that introducing a vehicle into the US market can be an expensive and time consuming process. Some of those foreign vehicles look interesting, though.
ActorNightly 4y ago
Safety features for personal protection shouldn't be the reason why you can or cannot drive a car.

pc86 4y ago

I'm not sure how to get from "deemed [some debatable combination of] unsafe and/or illegal to drive on the road" to "regulation gone awry." Would you say the same thing if it had been made without seatbelts or a driver's side mirror?

turndown 4y ago

Ah yes, the classic “Of course the company has its customer’s safety in mind” argument everyone agrees with heartily.

mcphage 4y ago

> because it lacked a proper airbag on the steering wheel Coming up with a new steering wheel for the US seems significantly cheaper than redesigning a new vehicle.