To be fair, three-point seat belts didn’t exactly set American consumers on fire back in 1959, but the innovation eventually caught on, becoming the industry’s dominant passive restraint. Yet even safety features can contain safety defects, which is why Volvo Cars is embarking on its largest...

In 1959, Volvo decided to do something with its invention that would make most CEOs blanche. It freely gave away one of its innovations: the three point seatbelt.  The premise of the decision is that the three-point seatbelt could save lives, so why keep it from anybody? Since then, according...