The Nation - News from Sept. 4, 1986

The Ford Motor Co. will become the first U.S. auto manufacturer to provide a motorized automatic safety belt as standard equipment. Ford Chairman Donald E. Petersen said the motorized belts, which will wrap around a front-seat occupant when the ignition is turned on, will be installed in 1987 model Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx. The federal government is requiring auto makers to phase in either passive belts or air bags over the next three years.