They Don’t Build Cars Like They Used To — They Build Them Better

How often do we hear the saying….” they don’t build things like they used to?”

I suppose there’s truth to some older things having more style.  It’s hard to top the fashions and fads from many years ago.

But the fact is, just about everything made today is now better and safer than it used to be.  Especially cars, thanks in no small measure to consumer activist Ralph Nader, the pioneer for American automobile safety.

Here’s a short video that makes it abundantly clear how much safer cars are to drive now, versus 50 years ago.  In a crash test, a 1959 car goes up against a 2009 car in a head-on collision.  One might expect that the older car made of solid metal as opposed to lighter materials on the modern car would be safer for the driver.  But that’s clearly not the case.

Back then, the powerful automobile industry opposed virtually all federally-mandated safety improvements.  Even seat belts met with resistance.  Federal standards for cars were unthinkable when first proposed.  Conservatives argued it wasn’t the responsibility of the federal government to impose safety guidelines on companies.  Make safety enhancements optional and let the market decide was their counterargument.

Well, thankfully the good guys won the debate.  And hundreds of thousands of lives were saved over the next half-century because liberals stood with consumers while conservatives sided with big industry.  Indeed, the government does have a responsibility to protect citizens and make things better and safer for people.  In fact, that’s the role of government.  Such a position has proven to be beneficial to everyone.  If you don’t believe this, then imagine yourself in the driver’s seat of the 1959 automobile and getting involved in a head-on crash.

Watch this two-minute video below.  Which car would you rather be in, if something really bad happened?

Today, many of those who have been involved in serious auto accidents can thank liberalism for staying alive.