Honda's doing the right thing . . . for safety's sake

But ask for that car (price range $13,680 to $16,895) with the most basic of today's safety technology, antilock brakes (ABS), and you'll have to pay $800 for a package that also includes dual front seat mounted side air bags, and side-curtain air bags front and rear.

The air bags may be more than you want, but at least they are solid safety features and I recommend them.

What is galling, however, is that if you want that package, according to Mazda's options list, you must also buy -- for a whopping $1,190 -- a "Power & 16-inch Alloy Wheel Package" that includes power door locks, windows, and mirrors, as well as cruise control, illuminated remote keyless entry, manual adjustable driver's seat height and lumbar support, those 16-inch alloys, and all-season tires.

Plus, you've got to opt for air conditioning: $850.

So ABS, which typically costs $250 to $500 when it is a stand-alone option, ends up costing you $2,840.

Outrageous. But Mazda is not alone.

Readers tell me that if you go to a Toyota dealer looking for base models of the Matrix (ABS, AWD) or a Corolla (ABS), you may well be told they are not available with these features.

And a Toyota spokesman told me that is because distributors in New England and New York did not order these models with these features in order to keep down the prices of what they have on the lot.

I'm not here to pick on Mazda and Toyota because, sadly, manufacturers are including basic safety features as standard items mostly on high-end cars -- or are lumping them with expensive and often frivolous packages of other options if you want them on lower-priced vehicles (say, the $14,000 car we'll buy for our teenagers to drive.)

Instead, I'm here to praise Honda/Acura.

That's because the folks at Honda have announced that, before the end of 2006, most high-end safety features, from ABS to side-curtain air bags, from stability control systems to anti-roll devices, will be standard features on all but the most specialized of Honda and Acura vehicles.

You won't have to buy a six-CD changer with whoof-whoof and whooomp-whooomp if you want your Civic to give you the latest in safety features.

You won't need a lighted key fob, mirrors that melt ice, or leather seats if you want to avoid crashes, or, if you are in a crash, have air bags that cocoon you like a hug from the Michelin man and save your life.

"We have the ability to prevent a large number of . . . injuries and death . . . by preventing those violent events from happening in the first place," Phil Headley, chief engineer for advanced technologies at Continental Teves, N.A., told the New England Motor Press Association recently.

Headley's got a horse in the race, since his company develops and sells safety equipment. But that also includes air bags, and he says that while we focus on air bags and other devices that help after a crash, we neglect the broad spread of technology that will prevent crashes and make after-crash protection moot in thousands of cases.

"Regulators, automakers, and parts makers must get out of the mindset that protecting people after a crash is Job One," Headley said.

That's where Honda is headed, even as it concentrates on after-crash protection. The company has just spent more than $60 million to move beyond its reputation as a maker of clean, reliable, safe cars to a maker of standard super-safe cars.

Before the end of 2006, you'll find ABS, front-side air bags, and side-curtain air bags on every Honda Civic, Accord, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot, and Elementm, and every Acura RSX, TSX, MDX, TL, and RL.

Further, under the same time line, the light truck line that includes the MDX, Pilot, Element, CR-V, and Odyssey -- along with two light truck models yet to be built -- will come with vehicle stability assist and rollover sensing technology.

Only the low-volume sports cars -- Honda S2000 and Acura NSX -- will lack side curtain air bags because they aren't compatible with those two-seaters.

And on top of that, Honda is redesigning its platforms so they are less threatening in pedestrian crashes. The company is replacing horizontal ladder frames that stiffly project into other cars in head-on collisions with a "wrap-around" frame in the engine compartment that absorbs far more energy, protecting the occupants of other cars.

Headley says that today's technology, if spread throughout car lineups, could save as many as 6,000 lives every year, prevent tens of thousands of injuries, and save $35 billion in economic costs. This is not something that should be tied to lower "on-lot" costs at your local dealership. They should not be safety features that only the rich, purchasing high-end cars, are afforded.

And they certainly should not be tied to expensive options you may not want in the first place.

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.