Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile is a 1965 non-fiction book by American consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
Although not a work of fiction, this book provides examples of:
- Awesome, but Impractical: A major theme of the book is how contemporary American automobile manufacturers were placing emphasis on superficial attributes such as speed and beauty over safety or practicality. In addition to the examples cited in the Corvair chapter, chapter six focuses heavily on the aggressive styling of many 1950s vehicles and makes the case that such excessive ornamentation can be hazardous to pedestrians, while chapter two criticizes popular design elements of the era such as chrome-finished dashboards and instrument panels which could easily reflect light from oncoming vehicles into the driver's eyes, causing many accidents.
- Capitalism Is Bad: The Central Theme of the book is the contemporary American automobile industry's unwillingness to invest in safety improvements and refusal to introduce new safety features for the sake of profits.
- Cutting Corners: The first chapter, citing internal documents from General Motors' own engineers, details how the company refused to include basic safety equipment — namely a front stabilizer bar — in one of their most popular models because they figured it was cheaper to pay off lawsuits than re-engineer the car, thus demonstrating gross negligence on their part.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: In chapter two, Nader talks about the lack of standardized gear shift patterns among American automakers, leading to instances of cars becoming runaways or people being run over due to drivers accidentally setting their vehicles to reverse when they intended to set them to park.
- Either/Or Title: Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile.
- Fog of Doom: Chapter four focuses on the topic of air pollution and the American auto industry's significant contributions to the problem, with particular focus on the infamous Los Angeles smog.
- Never My Fault: Chapter seven discusses automakers' refusal to take responsibility for their buyers' safety and instead placing the blame for accidents on the drivers themselves.
- Poor Communication Kills: In the Corvair chapter, Nader calls out GM's marketing departments for failing to adequately inform customers or salespeople of the car's idiosyncrasies, resulting in many fatal crashes among drivers not used to its unusual handling style.
- Skewed Priorities
- In addition to Nader's criticisms of the auto industry's prioritization of aesthetics over functionality, chapter seven focuses on their unwillingness to focus on safety features out of fear of making the car too expensive, with Nader countering that unnecessary styling changes added far more to the car's price tag annually than any safety equipment.
- In the same chapter, Nader notes that, as of 1965, $320 million per year were being spent on highway beautification while only $500,000 were spent on road safety.
- There Should Be a Law: The final chapter suggests that the U.S. government must intervene to better regulate the auto industry and enforce safety standards in light of the industry's increasingly flagrant disregard for their customers' wellbeing.
