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48-466: Construction on the 4,000,000-square-foot (370,000 m) plant started in 1974, and it opened in 1979 to produce the newly designed X-body cars for the 1980 model year. After X-body cars came A-body cars (1985-1996) and then the plant began producing the Oldsmobile Cutlass through 1999 and Chevrolet Malibu through 2001. The company spent $ 700,000,000 to convert the plant from building

96-530: A perception that an effect of NHTSA's regulatory activity is to protect the U.S. market for a modified oligopoly consisting of the three U.S.-based automakers and the American operations of foreign-brand producers. It has been suggested that the impetus for NHTSA's seeming preoccupation with market control rather than vehicular safety performance is a result of overt market protections such as tariffs and local-content laws having become politically unpopular due to

144-527: A result of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU), the agency has issued a Final Rule requiring manufacturers to place NCAP star ratings on the Monroney sticker (automobile price sticker). The rule had a September 1, 2007 compliance date. The agency has an annual budget of $ 1.09 billion (FY2020). The agency classifies most of its spending under

192-528: A result, it was no longer possible to import foreign vehicles into the United States as a personal import, with few exceptions—primarily vehicles meeting Canadian regulations substantially similar to those of the United States, and vehicles imported temporarily for display or research purposes. In practice, the gray market involved a few thousand cars annually, before its virtual elimination in 1988. In 1998, NHTSA exempted vehicles older than 25 years from

240-566: A specified amount of money per life saved, or will save more money (in property damage, health care, etc.) than it costs. Requirements are balanced through estimated costs and estimated benefits. For example, FMVSS #208 effectively mandates the installation of frontal airbags in all new vehicles in the United States, for it is written such that no other technology can meet the stipulated requirements. It has been argued that even using conservative cost figures and optimistic benefit figures, airbags' cost–benefit ratio so extreme that it may fall outside of

288-545: A vehicle's weight, engine size, or fuel economy in calculating vehicle registration taxes ( road tax ). In 1979, NHTSA created the/a New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) in response to Title II of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, to encourage manufacturers to build safer vehicles and consumers to buy them. Since that time, the agency has improved the program by adding rating programs, facilitating access to test results, and revising

336-608: The California Air Resources Board . The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are contained in the United States 49 CFR 571 . Additional federal vehicle standards are contained elsewhere in the CFR. Another of NHTSA's activities is the collection of data about motor vehicle crashes, available in various data files maintained by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, in particular

384-583: The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS, where technicians investigate a random sample of police crash reports), and others. In 1964 and 1966, public pressure grew in the United States to increase the safety of cars , culminating with the publishing of Unsafe at Any Speed , by Ralph Nader , an activist lawyer, and the report prepared by

432-539: The J-body platform. For General Motors, the transverse front-drive configuration had represented uncharted engineering territory. At a time the company had begun reorganizing, and began using a new engineering approach, with its divisions responsible for a single aspect of the design rather than an integrated whole. After a significantly compressed design development, the X-bodies entered production and sales — and

480-530: The National Academy of Sciences entitled Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society . In 1966, Congress held a series of publicized hearings regarding highway safety, passed legislation to make the installation of seat belts mandatory, and created the U.S. Department of Transportation on October 15, 1966 ( Pub. L.   89–670 ). Legislation signed by President Lyndon Johnson earlier on September 9, 1966, included

528-839: The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act ( Pub. L.   89–563 ) and Highway Safety Act ( Pub. L.   89–564 ) that created the National Traffic Safety Agency, the National Highway Safety Agency, and the National Highway Safety Bureau, predecessor agencies to what would eventually become NHTSA. Once the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) came into effect, vehicles not certified by

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576-643: The U.S. federal government , part of the Department of Transportation , focused on transportation safety in the United States . NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as well as regulations for motor vehicle theft resistance and fuel economy , as part of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) system. FMVSS 209 was the first standard to become effective on March 1, 1967. NHTSA licenses vehicle manufacturers and importers, allows or blocks

624-600: The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations , which developed what became the UN Regulations on vehicle design, construction, and safety and emissions performance for vehicles and their components. While many countries adopted or required adherence to the UN Regulations, the United States did not recognize these standards and restricted the importation of vehicles and components not certified by manufacturers as compliant with U.S. regulations. Because of

672-552: The 1980 through 1985 model years, superseding the earlier, similarly designated, rear-drive platform. After front-wheel drive cars had become somewhat common in the North American market, first through foreign imports, and then by American-badged but wholly or partially foreign-developed cars (e.g., the Ford Fiesta and Dodge Omni ), GM's X-bodies were the first American-developed front-wheel drive cars introduced for

720-510: The 2012 model year. This technology was first brought to public attention in 1997, with the Swedish moose test . Other than that, NHTSA has issued only a few regulations in the past 25 years . Most of the reduction in vehicle fatality rates during the last third of the 20th century were gained from the initial NHTSA safety standards during 1968–1984 and subsequent voluntary changes in vehicle crashworthiness by vehicle manufacturers. Audits by

768-686: The Chevrolet Malibu to building the all-new GMT360 SUVs ( Chevrolet TrailBlazer , GMC Envoy , Oldsmobile Bravada ) in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The plant was damaged by a tornado on May 8, 2003, but the company repaired the damage and returned the plant to operations just 53 days later. On December 6, 2005, General Motors alerted the United Auto Workers local 1999 that the plant would be closed in February 2006 as part of cost-saving measures. The last vehicle produced at

816-602: The Inspector General's audit a decade before, in 2011. The 2018 audit found NHTSA incapable of conducting adequate, timely safety recalls. The 2015 audit found NHTSA's collection and analysis of safety-related data to be inadequate, and the agency to be lackadaisical and careless in examining safety defects. Government data (from FARS for the U.S.) in a 2004 book by former General Motors safety researcher Leonard Evans shows other countries achieving greater traffic safety improvements over time than those achieved in

864-485: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2021 have concluded that NHTSA is ineffectual ; the 2021 audit found NHTSA failing to issue or update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards effectively or to act within timeframes on petitions and investigations; having no process in place for critical agency responsibilities like evaluating petitions, and having failed to implement consensus recommendations derived from

912-582: The U.S. legal system are incompatible with some aspects of the UN regulatory system. Studies have concluded that commonizing regulations between the US and the rest of the world (which uses U.N. Regulations ) would save significant money, likely without affecting safety. NHTSA uses cost–benefit analysis for every safety device, system, or design feature mandated for installation on vehicles. No device, system, or design feature may be mandated unless it costs no more than

960-496: The United States: Research suggests one reason the U.S. continues to lag in traffic safety is the relatively high prevalence in the U.S. of pickup trucks and SUVs, which a 2003 study by the U.S. Transportation Research Board found are significantly less safe than passenger cars. Comparisons of past data with the present in the U.S. can result in distortions, due to a significant population increase and since

1008-401: The X platform, did not suffer the same reputation, and GM would significantly delay the introduction of its subsequent full size transverse engine FWD C and H platform vehicles, in the face of engineering issues. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA / ˈ n ɪ t s ə / NITS -ə ) is an agency of

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1056-491: The X-bodies — which included the 1980–1985 Chevrolet Citation , 1980–1984 Oldsmobile Omega , 1980–1984 Pontiac Phoenix and 1980–1985 Buick Skylark — became synonymous with their design defects, and GM's mishandled response. The X platform was the basis for the intermediate FWD GM A-body that proved much more successful. The X platform was superseded by the L-body and N-body platforms, which were derived from

1104-430: The agency has not put this proposal into effect. NHTSA administers the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), which is intended to incentivize the production of fuel-efficient vehicles by dint of fuel economy requirements measured against the sales-weighted harmonic average of each manufacturer's range of vehicles. Many governments outside North America promote fuel economy by heavily taxing motor fuel and/or by including

1152-407: The already more than one million X cars on the road. While remaining publicly silent on the safety implications of the brake design, leaked internal documents demonstrated that GM's engineering staff were dubious the valve modification would suffice, even for those cars subject to the recall — and that further changes to the brake linings and brake drums were required — that could raise

1200-471: The area could be affected, including those at GM suppliers and secondary jobs, like hotel and restaurant workers. Laid-off employees had the option of retiring or enrolling in GM's Jobs Bank, which allows workers to collect full pay and benefits as they attend classes or volunteer at community agencies. Some workers would continue to be paid through September 2007, when GM's UAW contract expired. On May 13, 2008,

1248-420: The brake proportioning valves, brake linings and drums. GM responded in 1983 with a voluntary recall of only all manual transmission vehicles of that year and the very earliest automatic transmission cars, a total of fewer than 250,000 vehicles, including those addressed in the first recall. NHTSA sued GM, demanding a recall of the entire 1980 model year, claiming the company had known as far back as 1978 of

1296-570: The cars' tendency to lock rear brakes — and had provided misleading and incomplete answers to NHTSA's investigation. Though the NHTSA had logged 4,282 complaints, including 1,417 accidents, 427 injuries and 18 fatalities, the presiding judge dismissed the suit in 1987, ruling that NHTSA had filed the suit prematurely, and had relied mainly on anecdotal evidence, without properly developing conclusive evidence or holding investigative hearings. The openly contentious back and forth, not only damaged

1344-490: The context of no demonstrated safety benefit to amber over red. More recent NHTSA-sponsored research has demonstrated that amber rear turn signals provide significantly better crash avoidance than red ones, and NHTSA has found there is no significant cost penalty to amber signals versus red ones, yet the agency has not moved to require amber—instead proposing in 2015 to award extra NCAP points to passenger vehicles with amber rear turn signals. As of September 2022, however,

1392-407: The cost per vehicle by $ 70-$ 150, and would need to address a far greater number of vehicles. More complaints, accidents, injuries, and lawsuits ensued, including cars which had earlier been recalled and modified, as well as cars from the 1981 model year. This caused the NHTSA to pressure GM for further action, preferably a recall of all 1.1 million vehicles in the 1980 model year for replacement of

1440-550: The cost–benefit requirements for mandatory safety devices. Cost–benefit requirements have been used as the basis for lighting-related regulation in the U.S; for example, while many countries in the world since at least the early 1970s have required rear turn signals to emit amber light so they might be distinguished from adjacent red brake lamps, U.S. regulations permit rear turn signals to emit either amber or red light. This has historically been justified on grounds of lower manufacturing cost and greater automaker styling freedom in

1488-418: The design's most prominent engineering deficiency, the rear brakes, became obvious. In 1979, during even the first months of manufacture, GM made a number of revisions to the car's braking system. Automotive journalists and reviewers noted in the autumn of 1979 rear wheels' tendency to lock upon heavy braking, such as in an emergency situation, a potentially dangerous behavior compromising vehicle control. In

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1536-588: The early 2020s, more than 40,000 U.S. residents died in automotive collisions every year. NHTSA has conducted numerous high-profile investigations of automotive safety issues, including the Audi 5000/60 Minutes affair, the Ford Explorer rollover problem, and the Toyota sticky accelerator pedal problem. The agency has introduced a proposal to mandate Electronic Stability Control on all passenger vehicles by

1584-400: The first results were released on October 15 that year. The agency established a frontal impact test protocol based on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 ("Occupant Crash Protection"), except that the frontal 4 NCAP test is conducted at 35 mph (56 km/h), rather than 30 mph (48 km/h) as required by FMVSS No. 208. To improve the dissemination of NCAP ratings, and as

1632-454: The first year of manufacture, hundreds of complaints noted rear brake locking, with dozens of related accidents and injuries — including one death, the latter triggering a lawsuit. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pressured General Motors for remedial action. GM issued a voluntary, though unpublicized recall to modify the brake proportioning valve of only the earliest manual transmission models, less than 50,000 of

1680-406: The format of the information to make it easier for consumers to understand. NHTSA asserts the program has influenced manufacturers to build vehicles that consistently achieve high ratings. The United States was the first country/region to have an NCAP program, which was then copied by other NCAP programs. The first standardized 35 mph (56 km/h) front crash test was on May 21, 1979, and

1728-419: The front and 2.5 mph (4 km/h) at the rear. However, these regulations at low-speed collisions did not enhance occupant safety. Vehicle manufacturers have acknowledged the functional equivalence of the UN and U.S. regulations, encouraged developing countries to recognize and accept both, and advocated for equal recognition of both systems in developed countries. However, some structural features of

1776-422: The high-volume, mainstream market. GM would subsequently migrate most of its mainstream platforms to front-wheel drive as well. Where numerous earlier American front-wheel drive cars were aimed at the luxury market and manufactured in relatively small numbers, the GM X bodies offered an alternative to high volume imported front-wheel drive compacts — and initially met considerable sales success. Ultimately,

1824-435: The import of vehicles and safety-regulated vehicle parts, administers the vehicle identification number (VIN) system, develops the anthropomorphic dummies used in U.S. safety testing as well as the test protocols themselves, and provides vehicle insurance cost information. The agency has asserted preemptive regulatory authority over greenhouse gas emissions , but this has been disputed by such state regulatory agencies as

1872-460: The increasing popularity of free trade , thus driving the industry to adopt less visible forms of trade restrictions in the form of technical regulations different from those outside the United States. An example of the market-control effects of NHTSA's regulatory protocol is found in the agency's 1974 banning of the Citroën SM automobile, which contemporary journalists described as one of

1920-517: The level of large commercial truck traffic has substantially increased from the 1960s, but highway capacity has not kept up. However, other factors exert significant influence; Canada has lower roadway death and injury rates despite a vehicle mix and regulations similar to those of the U.S. Nevertheless, the widespread use of truck-based vehicles as passenger carriers is correlated with roadway deaths and injuries not only directly by dint of vehicular safety performance per se , but also indirectly through

1968-743: The maker or importer as compliant with US safety standards were no longer legal to import into the United States. Congress established NHTSA in 1970 with the Highway Safety Act of 1970 (Title II of Pub. L.   91–605 , 84  Stat.   1713 , enacted December 31, 1970 , at 84  Stat.   1739 ). In 1972, the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act ( Pub. L.   92–513 , 86  Stat.   947 , enacted October 20, 1972 ) expanded NHTSA's scope to include consumer information programs. Despite improvements in vehicle design and public awareness of issues like drunk driving, traffic fatalities have remained stubbornly high. In

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2016-540: The plant, a white Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT, rolled out on February 20, 2006. The Oklahoma City Assembly plant was the first of 12 GM manufacturing plants that GM planned to permanently close by 2008, to match production with market demand. An estimated 521,400 GMT360 trucks were built at the Oklahoma City Assembly plant. The Oklahoma City plant employed 2,400 people — 2,200 hourly and 200 salaried — but economists estimated that as many as 7,500 jobs in

2064-718: The relatively low fuel costs that facilitate the use of such vehicles in North America. Motor vehicle fatalities decline as gasoline prices increase. In 1958, under the auspices of the United Nations, a consortium known as the Economic Commission for Europe was established to standardize vehicle regulations across Europe. Its goals included promoting best practices in vehicle design and equipment and reducing technical barriers to pan-European vehicle trade and traffic. This organization eventually evolved into

2112-519: The reputation of the X cars, but General Motors itself — with Hagerty (Insurance) , specialist in classic cars, noting that the X-car was "one of the malaziest cars" of the Malaise era , doing enormous damage to GM's reputation and playing a role in "the sharpest decrease in American market share" General Motors would experience in the 1980s. The intermediate FWD GM A-body , heavily derived from

2160-521: The rules it administers, since these are presumed to be collector vehicles. In 1999, certain very low production volume specialist vehicles were also exempt for " Show and Display " purposes. In the mid-1960s, when the framework was established for US vehicle safety regulations, the US auto market was an oligopoly , with three companies ( GM , Ford , and Chrysler ) controlling 85% of the market. The ongoing ban on newer vehicles considered safe in countries with lower vehicle-related death rates has created

2208-591: The safest vehicles available at the time. NHTSA disapproved the SM's designs featuring steerable headlamps that were not of the sealed beam design that was then mandatory in the U.S. as well as its height adjustable suspension , which made compliance with the 1973 bumper requirements cost-prohibitive. The initial bumper regulations were intended to prevent functional damage to a vehicle's safety-related components such as lights and fuel system components when subjected to barrier crash tests at 5 miles per hour (8 km/h) at

2256-455: The unavailability in America of certain vehicle models, a grey market arose in the late 1970s. This provided a method to acquire vehicles not officially offered in the United States, but enough vehicles imported this way were faulty, shoddy, and unsafe that Mercedes-Benz of North America helped launch a successful congressional lobbying effort to close down the grey market in 1988. As

2304-418: The voters of Oklahoma County approved the purchase of the plant, which was to be leased to neighboring Tinker Air Force Base , which borders the north side of the plant. 35°23′38.97″N 97°23′45.25″W  /  35.3941583°N 97.3959028°W  / 35.3941583; -97.3959028 GM X platform (FWD) The General Motors front-wheel drive X platform was used for compact cars from

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