Ralph Nader’s book marks an important milestone in the history of road safety: both in terms of the media shockwave it provoked on publication, and in terms of the laws the US government passed as a consequence (seatbelts, anti-lock braking systems, airbags, etc.). In it, he demonstrates the resistance of the major car companies to the safety of their cars, their lack of consideration for the problems identified by their engineers out of financial interest. For example, Nader calls the Chevrolet Corvair "The Sporty Corvair - One-Car Accident" in the title of the first chapter. Due to a known General Motors defect in the rear suspension, the car became highly unstable under sudden maneuvers, skidding and causing accidents. The book had an immediate impact on Corvair sales: they halved in the year following publication (220,000 in 1965 to 109,880 in 1966) and continued to fall until the car was discontinued in 1969.