Mexico's Booming Car Industry Sells Unsafe Cars at Home, Safe Ones for Export to US, Europe Adriana Gomez Licon - Associated Press
go to original November 29, 2013

In this image taken from a March 2013 video released by independent crash-test group Latin NCAP on Nov. 27, 2013, a Nissan model Tsuru vehicle with no airbags is crash-tested at Latin NCAP's facilities in Landsberg am Lech, Germany. Many international car manufacturers with plants in Mexico produce two versions of cars; sending models with air bags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control to the United States, and cars without those safety features to the local market. (AP/Latin NCAP)

RAMOS ARIZPE, Mexico - In Mexico's booming auto industry, the cars rolling off assembly lines may look identical, but how safe they are depends on where they're headed.

Vehicles destined to stay in Mexico or go south to the rest of Latin America carry a code signifying there's no need for antilock braking systems, electronic stability control, or more than two air bags, if any, in its basic models.

If the cars will be exported to the United States or Europe, however, they must meet stringent safety laws, including as many as six to 10 air bags, and stability controls that compensate for slippery roads and other road dangers, say engineers who have worked in Mexico-based auto factories.

Because the price of the two versions of the cars is about the same, the dual system buttresses the bottom lines of automakers such as General Motors and Nissan. But it's being blamed for a surge in auto-related fatalities in Mexico, where laws require virtually no safety protections.

Read the rest at Ocala.com

See related: A Mexican family's tragedy: Mother and father die in car without basic safety features

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