low tire pressure and faults in the airbag (SRS) systems, glove compartment, ashtray and a cigarette lighter or power outletas well as heating and ventilation systems, lighting controls, safety systems, entertainment equipment and information systems, e.g., navigation systems. Padding and safety In 1937, Chrysler, Dodge, DeSoto, and Plymouth cars came with a safety dashboard that was flat, raised above knee height, and had all the controls mounted flush. Padded dashboards were advocated in the 1930s by car safety pioneer Claire L. Straith. In 1948, the Tucker 48 became the first car with a padded dashboard. One of the safety enhancements of the 1970s was the widespread adoption of padded dashboards. The padding is commonly polyurethane foam, while the surface is commonly either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or leather in the case of luxury models. In the early and mid-1990s, airbags became a standard feature of steering wheels and dashboards. Fashion in instrumentation In the 1940s through the 1960s, American car manufacturers and their imitators designed aesthetically shaped instruments on a dashboard accented with chrome and transparent plastic, which could be less readable, but was often thought to be more stylish. Sunlight could cause a bright glare on the chrome, particularly for a convertible. On North American vehicles in particular, this trend lingered on until the late-1980s, which still featured dashboards with wood and fake chrome embellishment along with square instruments - long after European and Japanese manufacturers had long embraced a plainer, more functional and austere approach for dashboard and instrument panel design. With the advent of the VFD, LED and LCD in consumer electronics, some manufacturers used instruments with digital readouts to make their cars appear more up to date. Some cars use a head-up display to project the speed of the car onto the windscreen in imitation of fighter aircraft, but in a far less complex display. In recent years, spurred on by the growing aftermarket use of dash kits, many automakers have taken the initiative to add more stylistic elements to their dashboards. One prominent example of this is the Chevrolet Sonic which offers both exterior (e.g., a custom graphics package) and interior cosmetic upgrades. In addition to OEM dashboard trim and upgrades a number of companies offer domed polyurethane or vinyl applique dash trim accent kits or "dash kits". Manufacturers such as BMW, Honda, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz have included fuel-economy gauges in some instrument clusters, showing fuel