This is an interesting post. I have two lap belts in the front seat of my Clipper, but none in the back, which does bother me. Volvo was the first car company to provide seat belts as standard equipment in 1955. With that in mind, I am sure that car companies like Packard must have offered seat belts as available options, although I do not know that for sure.
Sometimes people will stop by to talk to me about the Clipper and invariably someone will say, "Boy, look at all the steel in that car! This is the kind of car I'd want to be in if I was in a wreck."
I smile and point to any late-model car in the vicinity, usually something like a Toyota or a Honda, and reply, "Not me -- if I had to be in a wreck I'd rather be in one of those instead of the Clipper." I explain that even though the newer cars are generally a lot smaller, they come equipped with multiple air bags, 3-point seat belts, and crumple zones, all designed to protect a driver or passenger in an accident.
As proof, I offer this YouTube video featuring a head-on accident between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Impala.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtxd27jlZ_g Take a guess which car wins ...
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