Perhaps the most universally hated and quickly discontinued feature of the 1970s was the ignition/seatbelt interlock system, mandated by temporary government regulation. This bizarre system prevented the car from starting unless the driver (and in some cases, the passenger) was buckled up. It was designed to force seatbelt use but was an immediate, overwhelming failure. Drivers found ways to bypass it, leaving the belt permanently buckled and sitting on top of it, or simply hated the inconvenience so much that the feature was repealed almost instantly. It was a classic example of well-intentioned but ridiculously intrusive government overreach into automotive design.
