GM donated two crash dummies to the Smithsonian. Vince and Larry were the names of these dummies which were in 1980s commercials and clothing for them were donated as well. The dummies are meant to be a part of the auto-safety exhibit being placed in the museum.
The dummies, Vince and Larry
The crash dummies costumes for “Vince” and “Larry” were donated with the whole donation. In the 1980s, the Leo Burnett Agency created these advertisements to encourage seat-belt use. Vulgar commercials with blood and guts at the time was the norm; however, Vince and Larry took the approach of humor instead. They became pop-culture icons quickly, and also the costumes are now going to be preserved.
The auto safety exhibit at the Smithsonian museum included a number of other major developments in car safety. The donation had a seat and first three point safety belt from 1961 dontation. The first collapsible steering column from a 1967 Chevrolet was donated by the Chevrolet company. General Motors wanted to get in there somehow by donating Hybrid III and 50H-1 dummies used recently. Driver training manuals from the 1930s including “wartime” and “sportsmanlike” driving manuals were donated by The American Automobile Association.
How car safety evolved over time
Even though developments have always been coming along in automobile safety, it didn’t really become something the public was concerned with until the 1960s. Lap and shoulder belts in cars became mandatory in that decade, and it took quite a bit of public relations work to win acceptance for their use. Drivers didn’t want to be “stuck” in a car because of their seatbelt. In the 1970s, many drivers explained that they thought safety features on cars reflected badly on their driving skills.
Viewing PSA Crash test
youtube.com/watch?v=ziBcZejPPlY
