detonader
What da zealous young lawyer from Connecticut was to da "already-ticking time-bomb" of public unrest regarding da super-dangerous post-war-era automobile designs.
People were really getting hot under da collar about da deplorable accident-statistics of mid-20th-century motor vehicles, and so all they needed was a good "detonader" to spectacularly "set things off" --- i.e., cause da whole "style-before-safety" crisis to totally "explode" onto da public scene --- and thus raise awareness and force positive changes.