Lifeguard (automobile safety)

{{Short description|Safety upgrade package offered from 1956 by Ford Motor Company}}

Image:Ford1001.jpg. The Lifeguard package was available for this model of car]]

Lifeguard was the name of a 1956 safety package marketed by the Ford Motor Company.

Spurred by Robert McNamara, the Cornell University crash research program and the first year of Ford's own crash testing in 1955, the Lifeguard package included:

• Three standard features:
• A safety "deep-center" steering wheel{{cite book|last=Flory, Jr.|first=J. "Kelly"|title=American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year|year=2008|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|isbn=978-0-7864-3229-5}} with spokes that would flex.{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1956%20Ford/1956_Ford_Fairlane_Brochure/1956%20Ford%20Fairlane-06.html|title=Directory Index: Ford/1956 Ford/1956_Ford_Fairlane_Brochure}}{{cite web |url=http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/New-Brochures---March/1956-Mercury-Advanced-Safety-Brochure/1956-Mercury-Advanced-Safety-03 |title=1956 Mercury Advanced Safety-03 |website=oldcarbrochures.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195040/http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/New-Brochures---March/1956-Mercury-Advanced-Safety-Brochure/1956-Mercury-Advanced-Safety-03 |archive-date=2017-03-28}}
• Safety "double-grip" door latches to prevent occupant ejection in case of a crash.
• A safety rearview mirror to reduce broken glass if shattered.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzQF9uMUZIwC&q=ford+lifeguard+design&pg=PA16|title=Full-size Fords|isbn=9781934709085|last1=Temple|first1=David W.|year=2010|publisher=CarTech }}
• Two optional features:
• Front and rear {{Cite web |url=http://mclellansautomotive.com/photos/B30628.jpg |title=Ford brochure: NEW FORD SEAT BELTS an important feature of Ford Lifeguard Design |access-date=2008-04-15 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203825/http://www.mclellansautomotive.com/photos/B30628.jpg |url-status=dead }} lap only seat belts, first offered by Ford in 1955.{{cite web|url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1956-ford-fairlane-crown-victoria4.htm|title=1956 Crown Victoria - 1955-1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria - HowStuffWorks|work=HowStuffWorks|date=4 September 2007}}
• Padded dashboard and sun visors. The padding was advertised as being more absorbent than foam rubber.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd4DAAAAMBAJ&q=Ford+Lifeguard&pg=PA310|title=Popular Mechanics|date=October 1955|publisher=Hearst Magazines}} The instruments were recessed to minimize injury potential.

According to some{{who|date=January 2019}}, the buying public was unresponsive to the Lifeguard package, prompting Henry Ford II to say: McNamara is selling safety, but Chevrolet is selling cars.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} However, Ralph Nader and Joan Claybrook dispute this, claiming that the package was extremely popular.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fbIJ-2IqFc|title=YouTube}}