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 Smithsonian plans to show many developments that happened for car safety. The 1961 three point safety belt that was the first made was donated. The 1967 Chevrolet collapsible steering column was donated. 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.
The evolution of automobile safety
Though there have been developments in auto safety since the first horse-drawn carriage, the issue didn’t come into the public eye 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. When seatbelts were first introduced, numerous drivers voiced concern about being “stuck” in a trapped car or being more injured by the belts than an accident. Within the 1970s, drivers were more concerned about how it made them look needing security features in their car.
Viewing PSA Crash test
youtube.com/watch?v=ziBcZejPPlY
