Did you know that before the federal government made it a crime for a parent to drive kids around in a car who aren’t strapped into a safety (sic) seat, General Motors was peddling love seats?
All the way back in the late 1960s – more than 20 years before they became mandatory. The first state to make them so was Tennessee and by 1985, every state had followed suit. Because every state is beholden to Uncle. More finely, at the mercy of Uncle – who first steals income taxes from the people of every state and then withholds the “funds” it disburses back to the states that the latter need to pay for various things – such as highway repair – if the states do not go along with what Uncle demands. An example of this being the pressure applied by Uncle to get every state to pass “drunk driving” laws that effectively define as drunk anyone who has had a drink. Or even a sip – in the case of drivers who aren’t yet 21.
The 55 MPH National Maximum Speed Limit that tortured (and mulcted) drivers for 20 years – from 1974 to 1994 – was another case in point. The federal government applied heavy financial pressure – we’ll either give you back some of the stolen loot or we won’t, depending on your compliance – to get every state to go along with reducing highway speed limits from 70-75 (as they were before 1974) to 55. Overnight – and for the next 20 years – driving at what had been legal speeds became actionable speeds. Millions were mulcted of millions – and not just by the highway patrol. People got “tickets” for “speeding” for driving at what had been legal speeds and the insurance mafia used these “tickets” as evidence of dangerous driving behavior – and mulcted accordingly.
Back to safety/love seats.
Prior to the government forcing every parent to strap their kid into one of these things like a junior Hannibal Lecter, kids generally just hopped in back. Sometimes, four or five in back. As many as could fit. Sometimes, they rolled around in the back of station wagons’ cargo areas. It was a normal part of growing up in the ’60s and ’70s. Were the parents of those kids of the ’60s and ’70s negligent? Or have the parents of the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s been hystericized?
Those of us who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s probably say it is the latter. We grew up feeling safe because we did not obsess about safety – because most of our parents did not obsess about it. We just went for a ride when they went for drive – and many of us have great memories of sitting on mom or dad’s lap while they drove – with us doing some of the steering. That would be cause for an arrest today – and that is a measure of our decline as a society.
There is an excellent video that gets into this in some depth. Here it is:
Meanwhile, we have GM to thank for pushing safety/love seats on us. It was not enough, apparently, for GM to offer these seats to those who wanted to buy them. Just as it was not enough to offer air bags as an option for people who wanted to buy them – which GM did do in the early ’70s. The trouble was, very few people wanted to buy them. Probably because – back in the early ’70s – the now-nearly universal morbid obsession with saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety had not yet etiolated into a general sickness.
People – most people – had to be pushed into buying air bag-equipped vehicles by making it illegal for any car company to sell new vehicles that lacked them. Just as most people had to be pushed – by threats – into buying safety/love seats and strapping their kids into them, thereby imparting the non-too-subtle message that cars are dangerous rather than freeing things. 
Matt Anderson, who is the curator of transportation at the Henry Ford museum, says “People now have a greater appreciation of safety. And drivers today grew up in proper child seats too.”
We’re a weaker, fear-addled society as a result of it, too.
. . .
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[…] And https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2026/01/02/its-all-gms-fault/ […]
GM also pushed for Daytime Running Lights. They were mandated in Canada due to short daylight winter hours. GM pushed for them in the U.S. so they wouldn’t have to pony up for two different light systems and wanted to force other companies to pony up for them too in their cars. Guv’mnt Motors
I hate this fucking safety shit I remember riding in the bed of the truck no seat belt hard dash no airbag and I’m still around people need to tell the government to shove this shit up there ass should be able to buy a new car under 20k if it didn’t have safety shit should be your choice to buy a safety retard car or a real car.
All the moaning and groaning about the government overreach has no meaning, since many here voted republican, probably many times, thinking it was the answer, neither is the donkey party! What you’ve accomplished is the product of a shallow juvenile mind.
Thanks for your insight, Oh wise one.
In the existing political paradigm, voting for the elephant or the donkey makes NO difference. Either way the party of Joosrael wins! This should be apparent.
And you self-righteously assume Maup, that readers here all vote “Republican”, thinking they are the lesser of two evils. When really, both political parties are merely two wings of the same bird, and likewise, will sh** all over us no matter which letter (D or R) happens to be in power at any particular time. Voting makes one “feel better”, but in the end, that is all it does. But thank you for correcting us, it must make you feel better believing all of us here are fools, while you are not.
Shadow, i said “many” not all. No, I am not interested in “feeling better” I might do some weed derivative, if I wanted that, legally of course.
Car seats may possibly have saved a few thousand kids from injury or death in the last 20 years. But how many kids were never born because white western parents limited their progeny to 1 or 2, under replacement rate, because of the hassle of having to truck around a huge SUV full of car seats, among other discouragements.? Meanwhile, 79 IQ third world savages continue to be fecund and breed like feral cats. And come to our country to colonize it.
Car seats are evil.
Hi Ernie!
I think your point is spot on. I think one of the reasons I ended up not having kids was that I have a higher-than-usual aversion to government-enforced idiocies such as this. I would have had to buy a different vehicle (I still have the two-door truck I had when I was married; the rear jump seats can’t be used with “safety” seats) and I internally dreaded the thought of having to deal with the things at all. As you say, if you have more than two kids, you pretty much have ot get a three-row crossover, minivan or SUV – a huge expense. Sensible people avoid such things where possible.
Eric, I don’t doubt that the hassle of hauling children in conformance with gov’s mandates has contributed to some people’s deciding to limit the number of children they have, but I’ve never heard anybody say that before now. What I have heard innumerable times is parents (or prospective parents) lamenting the overall cost of raising children, and they limit their family size because of that.
When you consider the overall dollar cost of raising children, the incremental cost of a requisite larger vehicle is almost down in the noise. Raising our several children, we spent far more on food, clothing, dental braces, piano lessons, medical care, home schooling stuff, and the like than we did on a larger-than-otherwise-necessary vehicle. An old station wagon to start, then a series of well-used Dodge minivans. None of those vehicles cost much more to own than a smaller vehicle that would have sufficed for only me and my wife.
In your case, if you had had children, I’m sure you would have found gov’s baby car seat diktats the least infuriating of the myriad intrusions governments local state and federal would try to make on your family. I know you would eschew Virginia’s government schools. Private schools are expensive, and some states still harass home schoolers. In Virginia, the Dept of Education requires that home schooling parents be qualified, inform the state of their intent to home school (they’ll probably want names, DOB, and social security numbers of your children), and show the state annual evidence of progress for every child. If you cross them, they can make life difficult for you. Here in South Carolina, which is one of the relatively better states for home schooling (it’s a lot better now than when we started almost 40 years ago), the state will still send a social worker and one or more cops to your door if you ever commit Contempt of System. Haven’t heard of it here for a while, but the state will kidnap children — for their own good, of course.
Medical care for your children is another is another thing that would make you furious. It starts in the hospital when the baby is born (unless your baby is born at home; one of our daughters does that). The staff will try to inject, immunize, vaccinate, eyedrop, and hearing test your baby. My noncompliant daughter who has her babies at the hospital, and who has lots of children, has had to fight them tooth and nail every time. None of her children has ever had a vaccination. Finding a doctor is no easy task; all pediatricians are agents of the state.
SG, all very good points. But the insidious evil of car seats is to explicitly make your kids a hassle and a headache, anything but a blessing, hour after hour, day after day, week after month after year hoisting growing kids in and out of these increasingly complicated car seat monstrosities. The money of a big vehicle and the gizmos is secondary to the incessant toll of dealing with that.
When my kids were small in the 90s and 00s, I simply ignored the crap for the most part. We drove old Chevy and GMC conversion vans and put a play pen in the back for them to enjoy the ride. Car seats for infants are actually ok, and somewhat useful.
But today, with cops, cameras, and snoops galore, my approach is harder to pull off. And my daughter’s growing family is giving me a ring side seat to this circus.
Again, car seats are a particularly insidious evil.
I wonder how in the world people with kids survive in this day and age? When I go to the grocery store, and see just what I spend for myself, it is enough to make one cry. One guy who had kids said his one grocery bill was well over $400 dollars! Never mind the price of everything else increasing, while pay checks are not. And really, I am not sure I would want to raise a kid in this day and age, looking at how lunacy is revered and respected, while wisdom is reviled, despised, and persecuted.
The poor kids. . .
One of our daughters spends, on average, over $100 per day on groceries for her family of 11. That includes disposable diapers, but no “baby formula”. (No soybean oil pseudomilk for my babies!). She feeds her family good food, which costs a lot more than most of the stuff on the processed chemical aisles.
With all due respect, Eric, have you seen how people drive these days? Even when we lived in Florida in the late 70s early 80s for five years all my cars were hit will standing still. You can’t hardly drive five miles without someone thinking the laws of physics doesn’t apply to them.
Again, I blame GovCo.
They “teach” most people how to drive. They then “certify” at the DMV that they can handle a vehicle. The stats say that 50% if drivers have a crash in their first year behind the wheel. That’s why teens now have “graduated” licenses…because they can’t drive, yet GovCo gives them an “ID” that says they can.
“ Even when we lived in Florida “
It’s a whole ‘nother driving world in FL, daughter was there 3 years at Disney early 2000s. Early on, she’d call with the latest crash reports (lucky never her).
“Dad, you think WA is bad, you wouldn’t believe this place. It’s like automatic the medivac chopper shows up, they don’t do fender benders here”
Thought this a bit exaggerated until our first visit. Left the Orlando airport, found the back way to her place rounded a corner behind the Publix- total mayhem in a 40 zone. Two cars a head on, couldn’t tell the make/ model cars it was that bad. Front drive, drive train 20 ft from its car. The other totally caved in. Could hear the chopper inbound. Wow.
Leaving SeaWorld, the parking lot exit is real life dodge’m cars, no polite que. Every man for himself squeezing the spot in front. I just parked it waited out the crazy’s.
Heading to St. Pete, old fart in a Caddy “merges” from the right onto the freeway right across all lanes and about takes off the corner of my car. I hit the horn he hits the bird and keeps on rolling up the ass of the cars in front.
No FL offense intended but my WA coworker was right, “nothing in Florida ‘cept old people and bugs”.
Hi Mark,
Yep – every day! Luckily for me, I live in a still relatively rural area. But I take your point. I drive paranoid; i.e., I am always paying extra attention, scanning and thinking about options as I go. This seems to work for me!
I was in college when Mom finally started to restrain her right arm when coming to a stop.
Didn’t we all stand on the front seat?
Or hung out the windows. When I was a sprat and mom and dad wanted some alone time for whatever reason, we would drive through the back roads of the Black Hills with my sister and I riding on the hood of a VW Squareback. There was a little valley between the front fender and the hood where a kid could safely and comfortably ride and glory in the warm South Dakota air, the scent of pine and the feeling of glorious freedom.
Govt Motors, the root of our problems
I remember being 3yo sitting in the front seat of my parents cars, now they’re all brainwashed into thinking that if my now 4yo nephew sits in the back of my Bronco without a retard seat, a semi will magically appear out of nowhere and crush us all to death!
What the hell is wrong with people these days, what happened to their edge and common sense?
The unmentionables fear of death mongering kosherism has been assimilated as normal operating mode.
Wow, what a blast from the past, Eric. Which reminds me of this clip from Dry Bar Comedy. This one is seven minutes long, but is hilarious! For those who can still manage to laugh in this day and age. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjpBE5Bb0SI
That video sums up my childhood experiences. One thing it did miss was if you got into no-good, neighborhood “watch” got word of your “deeds” back to your parents before you got back home.
For me, that resulted in a trip to the tree outside to break off a switch for my mother to use on my backside.
A time or two of experiencing that shaped self control real quick.
Ditto, Allen –
We got to learn about consequences by experiencing them. This is an altogether different thing than being protected from them.
Yes. Nice archeological dig, Eric. General Motors was one of the first manufacturers to lower the maximum speeds on their speedometer. The first large car to have a reading below 120 mph was the 1974 Cadillac, a full model year before the 55 mph limit went into effect. The 1974 cars were selling before the end of 73. The change allowed the cancer to spread quickly through GMs 1975 offerings. Ford didnt get them till 77 when they cut back to 80 and Dodge didnt implement till 76, I think. All American car makers were pursues though. FMVSS 127, the infamous 85 mph speedometer rule didnt take effect until MY 1980. It was repealed by Reagans executive order. It was perhaps the best thing Raygun ever did. Foreign manufacturers were the last to comply and the first to revert back. It took GM and othersseveral years to put higher numbers on. By the early 90s GM and others cleared their parts bins filled with 85 mph units.
In the summer of 82, I saw several 83 MY Accords and a Porsche with higher numbers on them. They were the first out of the gate.
1974 Cadillac dash redesign. https://share.google/ZuG7UYeuB3krS3Fog
Thanks, Swamp!
I really liked that video about ’70s kids, too. It resonated big time for this Gen X kid!
Makes you wonder: Did GM know something we didn’t?
Ralph Nadar was in his early years of car hating. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ignored like they should have.
True dat, 75 malibu. 140 hp sb with 2.63 “economy” rear end. Forest of vacuum hose operated nonsense underhood. That plastic bucket kidseat. Worst car I ever had.
It gets even crazier:
‘Used car seats often can’t be sold because their unknown crash history, potential for hidden damage (stretched harnesses, compressed foam), missing parts, expired dates (due to material aging or new standards), and potential for undetected recalls make them unreliable safety devices, compromising a child’s protection in a crash. Experts advise against them unless you know the seat’s full history and confirm it meets current safety standards.’ — AI Overview
SCAM ALERT: Yes, they actually put expiration dates on kids’ car seats, making them impossible to resell.
Where are the expiration dates on muh seat belts? Uhhh, there aren’t any! Which points to the scam (i.e., manufacturers’ conspiracy) involving child car seats.
If elected to Clowngress, I will introduce a bill to remove all the leather chairs from the chamber, and oblige every solon to remain buckled inside a large, injection-molded plastic shell, unless they are speaking on the floor. Adult children need to be treated like children!
I particularly enjoy the police offering child seat “safety checks” to ensure the seat is properly installed. So these things are so difficult to use that we need professional help?
Then how safe can they be, if the average consumer can buy it but use it wrong?
Hi Dan,
I thank the fates I was born in time to not have to be strapped in to a saaaaaaaaaaaaaafety seat. Those of us who grew up in the ’70s and early ’80s were gifted with a childhood that those who came later were deprived of and thereby diminished by.
Scam indeed. The safety cult has tried to make selling a used car seat almost impossible, and they are succeeding.
https://carxplorer.com/can-you-sell-used-car-seats/
My daughter’s baby just outgrew hers, and she couldn’t even give it away to Goodwill. I finally found somebody who wanted it, but the safety cultists and the manufacturers raking in the profits from this scam would have preferred that some hapless expectant mother (many of whom are financially struggling) just lay out $180-$350 for a new compliant one with unquestioned provenance.
The owner’s manual of my (GM) 2002 Silverado devotes 65 pages to seat belts (in Section 1, naturally). This vehicle has a feature that GM styles the Latch System — Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for Children.
“Collision damage also may mean that you will need to have LATCH system, safety belt or seat parts repaired or replaced. New parts and repairs may be necessary even if the LATCH system wasn’t being used at the time of the collision.”
At least fedgov — back in 2002 — allowed manufacturers to provide a switch to disable the passenger-side air bag. I leave it switched OFF, so my grandchildren can ride up front with me — just like in the before-time — without fear of serious injury or death caused by the mandated Takata-Claymore embedded behind the dash.
We had the same experience StraitGate,
When our grandson outgrew the car seat we had, which was maybe used a dozen times over a couple years at most, no charity would take it. What a waste; fortunately we found someone in the neighborhood who was grateful to get it, and I hope it continues to get passed on to others. Now that is what I would call sustainable.
When my two boys graduated to seat belts, I was informed that no charity would take the”used” child seat. So one day on my way to work I stopped on the shoulder of the road and left it setting there in the middle of nowhere. The fucker was gone the next day.
Eric, you also missed out removing one of these seats after a few years service, lots of decomposing food items and other unidentifiable goodies.
When my youngest was still in diapers, my oldest son thought it would be a good idea to deposit a used nappy into the glove box of my uncles Toyota truck….In July. Uncle took a few days to figure out the locale of the offending odor.
Good stuff, Nova!
I decided that, if kids ever came into the picture, I’d try to raise them as ferally as feasible. At home birth, no “vaccines” or SS numbers. Home school. And rides in the Trans-Am, without any air bags or saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety seats.
Air bags don’t have expiry dates mentioned either.
This.
I recently bought a C4, which will get LSed – a 415 stroker when my FJ projects are done. One thing that fightened me off a 1990 or later was the though of having a 36 year old air bag going off for no reason, other than it being 36 years old. I ended up getting an ’85 with the manual.
The C4 vettes are underrated and cheap. The main problems with them are the electronic dashes and some oddball transmissions. Have fun!
A friend had a resale shop. His insurance policy stated that he was to never sell used baby seats.
People would of course want to sell them to him, but he couldn’t. He would have to toss ones that got abandoned on his doorstep too. Another cost of doing business thanks to government.
Seat belts do have a shelf life.
I don’t know if you’ve done any racing but if you prepare your car for sanctioned events even at amateur levels you have to be aware of this. The FIA (polyester webbing) certifies seat harnesses, belts and window nets for 5 years and the SFI (nylon webbing) for 2 years after the date of manufacture. When you show up to an event the inspector will look for this. The reason is heat, ozone and UV breaks down the thread and webbing material.
Naturally a passenger car isn’t subject to the same abuse but neither is it immune from the effects. The material does eventually fail.
Same with helmets, the tech inspector usually looks for a helmet less than 5 years old and having no evidence of being wrecked. The concern is the EPS foam that serves as the impact absorption slowly hardens over time. This happens faster with heat and UV but it’s always occurring.
It’s not like a light switch where one day the materials are good, the next they’re bad. It’s a slow degradation. All you can know is manufacture date and decide at some time after that what to do. Yes, it’s arbitrary using a date, but the alternative is individual article inspection. Shoei, for example, will do that if you ask. But even they will automatically reject as bad any helmet older than 7 years after manufacturing or 5 years past purchase date.
Are they bad after that? Maybe, maybe not. Shoei (or others) can’t say for sure without testing it and that’s destructive. They do it by batch and certify their processes, so they can say by visual inspection based on similarity. Beyond their design intention all they can say is you’re on your own. If you want to be the crash test dummy who does it I’m sure they’d be interested in the results.