(FORTUNE Magazine) – Chrysler announced that it had begun equipping six car models with driver-side air bags as standard equipment, becoming the first U.S. carmaker to do so. Air bags are already standard in BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volvo, and Honda Acura cars. Ford plans to make them standard equipment in 1989 models, GM and Nissan in 1990 models. -- Airlines and planemakers paid an average of $362,943 for each passenger killed in major plane crashes between 1970 and 1984, according to a Rand Corp. study reported in the National Law Journal. The average after 1980 was about $500,000 per victim. Jury Verdict Research Inc. reports that the expected verdict for a husband who claims loss of his wife's services as the result of a serious injury is $55,000; when the roles are reversed, the expected verdict is $25,000.