Re: News you can muse

[Josh Pinkert <flush@radix.net>]

At 12:38 PM 6/19/97 MDT, DeWitt Harrison wrote:
>Automotive product news tidbits from June's Product Design
>and Development mag.:
>
> Our dear friends at Robert Bosh Corp. have come up with
>an Automotive Occupancy Sensing system, cleverly dubbed
>"AOS," which determines whether the passenger side airbag
>should be deployed in a crash.  It just says no to airbags when
>(a) the passenger seat is unoccupied, (b) it contains a rear
>facing infant seat, (c) the occupant is improperly seated or
>(d) is seated too close to the dashboard. This will save you
>the trouble of switching off the passenger side airbag manually.
>Hypothetically, what do you suppose Audi would get for a
>replacement AOS unit?  $2,500?
>

One thing to add...my '98 A4Q apparently has something similar to this.
Apparently the side airbag won't fire off without a passenger in the seat.
Kinda cool cause it saves $$$$, one of my biggest criticisms of airbags.

Another thing...the '98 A4's have dual threshold airbags, meaning that they
deploy differently when the seatbelt is fastened, versus not fastened.  I
know WMB is doing this too...but it seems like all manufacturers should be
doing this!

>From the Audi Web site...

"Supplemental restraints: driver and front passenger airbags with dual
threshold deployment and occupant sensor for front passengers, front side
airbags"


--
Josh Pinkert
flush@radix.net
--