'Safety Standards May Close Plants'

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31247, 20 December 1966, Page 28

'Safety Standards May Close Plants'

(N.Z. Press Association — Copyright)

DETROIT, December 16. Chrysler yesterday joined Ford in predicting that proposed Government safety standards for 1968 cars could force the industry to close some plants.

Mr L. Townsend, the chairman of the Chrysler board, and the company’s chief executive officer, said Chrysler had every desire to do everything humanly possible to meet the Government's safety standards.

“But in spelling out specifically what those standards are, it is vital that reasonable regard be had for the realities of the complicated, timeconsuming and economically vital process of designing, engineering, testing, tooling and producing an automobile,” he said.

“This is a necessity if we are to be able to continue producing automobiles in compliance with the laws of

the United States after September 1, 1967,” Mr Townsend said.

Mr Henry Ford, chairman of the Ford Motor Company, told newsmen the previous day that some safety standards which may be required by the Federal Government in 1968 models would make it impossible to build certain cars.