auto belts
 

so many people that get into my svx are amazed/surprised when the seat belt moves with the opening/closing of the door. :confused:

they all act like theyve never seen it before!

i know that plenty of other cars have the same feature (most cars ive seen with them are older, crappy, "first car/beater" cars)

am i the only one (besides all of you) who are familiar with the auto seatbelts?

then again, maybe i should keep in mind that most of the people hopping in my car are teenagers...dont know if that makes any difference

Re: auto belts
 

The first widely produced car with them was the '75 VW Rabbit
It was a popular thing in the 80's and early 90's across all auto makers.
Many late 80's/early 90's fords, dodges, and imports used this
GM in the 80's actually had the whole 3-piece belt that was automatic in some cars-mainly caddy's.

So in other words its been on TONS of cars but they were pretty much all phased out by the mid 90's across all brands.

Re: auto belts
 

Subaru had auto belts in the Legacy from 1990-1994. Pretty much everyone stopped auto belts when dual front airbags were introduced in 1995. Some automakers stopped when airbags were first introduced, but Subaru did not.

Re: auto belts
 

Two other cars that I had with them. 89 Mercury Topaz and a 93 Acura Integra. I personally hate the auto seatbelts. My SVX is a 94, so fortunately I dont have them.:D

Re: auto belts
 

My Dad's 91 mitsubishi galant had one. I do like this feature, this way you cant say oh i forgot to put my seatbelt...:)

Re: auto belts
 

Sure you can. I can't tell you how many times I've had to remind passengers to buckle the lap belt. You don't want to be in a bad crash wearing just the "auto" belt.

Automatic belts were a dim-bulb, cheap-ass way for the automakers to satisfy demands for a "passive" system, without springing for air bags. Pointless complexity, to my mind, as you must buckle the lab belt anyway.

I believe some of the examples previously cited here didn't have motorized belts, but belts that attached to the door.

dcb

Re: auto belts
 

My wife had them in her 92 Escort. I've always kind of liked them.

Re: auto belts
 

I agree with you, still it's a good feature, tho I wish the lapbelts would be integrated. I knew when I bought a 92 that it did'nt have the pas airbag. I drive by myself most of the time anyway. But If I do have to bring my kids, they'll seat in the back with the seatbelts of course.;)