European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 02, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. December 2, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 Ralph Nader continues to attack automakers by h. Josef Hebert associated press t to decades after his boo unsafe at any Speed rocked the automobile Industry consumer activist Ralph Nader s criticism of car manufacturers is As Sharp As Ever. What they do is what they re required to do. There s very Little volunteerism he suggested in an interview marking the 20th year since the publication of the 297-Page Book which made Nader a nationally known personality and launched a new Era of consumerism. His Sharp words soften slightly when discussing Ford motor co., largely he says because it has broken ranks with the rest of Detroit by offering air bags in at least some of its cars sold to meet customers. Pm is worse than Ever the stubborn no. 1," says Nader of general motors corp., which was the subject of his 1965 Book. Ford is breaking ranks. Chrysler  privately they Haven t changed. In their own minds they re still stubborn. But they know they can t get away with what they used to get away with because of increased consumer awareness and government regulation he says. It was november 1965 when unsafe at any Speed came off the presses with a message that at the time was nothing Short of revolutionary As far As Detroit was concerned. It suggested that automobile design May be As much the culprit of Highway accidents As the Driver. More alarming to the automakers Nader urged the Federal government to protect americans against automobile safety defect s by requiring safety standards on everything from Brake performance to windshields. General Moton whose Chevrolet Corvair was the prime target of Nader s Book was so incensed that it hired a detective to follow him. But the ploy backfired when the Sleuth was discovered Erma Bombeck while trying to Trail Nader in a Senate Ottice building. Pm later had to apologize at a Senate hearing and some say the apology did More to catapult Nader to prominence than the Book itself. Less than a year alter the Book s publication Congress enacted the motor vehicle safety act. Which gave the Federal government authority to regulate automobile safety and require Federal Auto safety standards. The Book sparked the passage of the Laws that revolutionized the Way the Auto Industry does business says Joan Claybrook former head of the National Highway traffic safety administration the Agency created by the 1966 Law Michael Pertschuk now a leading consumer activist and former member of the Federal Trade commission was a Senate aide deeply involved with the Auto legislation when Nader s Book was published. When the ideas of regulating the Auto Industry first came up it seemed impossible he recalls. Then the Nader Book came out and pm s tailing of Nader. That really transformed the  even Nader is still surprised today at the Impact of the Book. He says he was certain some legislation on Auto safety would emerge but that he never foresaw the groundswell that transformed him into a National figure and Ted to new consumer interests in a Broad Range of issues from poultry inspection to toy safety. About 400,000 copies of unsafe at any Speed were printed and some Are still available at Book stores. The heart of the Book focused on a single car. The rear engine sporty Chevrolet Corvair which Nader argued had unique handling problems that made it unsafe. The Corvair never fully recovered from the attack and was scrapped in 1969. But Nader rough to make a much broader Point that too much attention was being placed on the Driver s role in Highway accidents and no attention was being paid to automobile design. Our society knows a Good Deal More about building safer machines than it Ralph Nader conf Nuet the consumer movement he started 20 Yean ago. Does about getting people to behave safely in an almost infinite variety of driving  Nader wrote. And whether motorists Are momentarily careless or intoxicated or Are driving normally when they Are struck by another vehicle is entirely irrelevant to the responsibility of the automobile makers to build safer  general motors declined to respond to questions about the Book except to Issue a paragraph statement defending the Corvair. John Hartnett. A corporate spokesman said pm officials did t want to discuss the Book or its Impact on the Industry. As for Nader he says the most important Issue concerning Auto safety today revolves around the debate Over whether to require air bags the cushions that automatically inflate to protect front Seal occupants in a crash in All automobiles. While pessimistic about the automakers commitment to safety. Nader says he believes the Industry which has opposed air bags will soon be making them available. Thought it was  other americans hate it As much As i  than buying a bathing suit. Worse than going to the dentist. Worse than making a speech or returning something. The no. 1 hate of 92 percent of americans is talking to a Telephone answering machine. I freeze one night when a recording called Ray was in the process of telling me he was t there and at the sound of the beep to leave my name and number i was so Busy putting together my reply that it was t until i Hung up that i realized i had no son named Ray. I Naa the wrong number. All three of my kids have an answering machine. Ii is turned on All the Lime. No one has that kind of a social life not even Linda Evans. I know As sure As god made Little Green apples that they re lounging in a lining to me sweat and Clear my Throat wailing for the sound of their beep. It s their personal revenge for All those years i said this is your Mother speaking. Look at me when i talk no wonder their messages Are cute arid Clever. They spend hours scripting them writing them Down on a Sheet of paper and recording them. It s the caller who is at a disadvantage. In 20 seconds i have to adjust to the fact they re god knows where remember my name ask someone Tor my phone number because i never Call it and find my glasses to see what Lime it is when i called. All this before that ear splitting beep that coincidentally sounds like a machine monitoring my heartbeat. That s Why i have by my phone my own and Libs for such a moment when children Don t want to talk to their Mother. Mom Here. I know you re not going to be Happy. We made out the will today and. Beep sweetheart at least i m to become a grandmother. Why did t you Tell me. Tho sweeler.1 girl dropped by today and told me. Call when you  beep this is your Mother Surprise you Are being observed through the first see through phone on the mar Ket. Only  beep i know you re Busy. I just called to say Good Bye. You can have my instamatic camera. I always loved you  beep i Dun t think i be talked directly to my kids in three years. The other night i fought Back with still another weapon. When their machine gave their usual Blurb. I answered. This is your Mother s answering machine. She s of right now. But if you leave your name and your phone number Shell get Back to you. The beep is broken so right after i Stop talking you have five seconds. Ready. Set. Go Lai them sweat for a White. C Toi Ai Uciel time Syndicate