Remember the good old days when cars had meaningful bumpers? The repair costs for even a 2- or 3-mph parking lot ding is much higher than in the days when the feds required bumpers that withstood 5-mph impacts.
A while back Jason Torchinsky (2018) went as far as to argue that “the bumper, as it once was known, is effectively gone.” This has resulted in a rich irony. Due to the old federal standards, the bumpers on a late-70s Honda Civic “are tougher than anything on your huge SUV.” This is despite newer cars having increasingly expensive electronic gear positioned near bumper level.
How did it come to this? Check out “Hemmings highlights late-70s attack against U.S. bumper regulations.”
RE:SOURCES
- Torchinsky, Jason; 2018. “Reminder: Cars Don’t Have Bumpers Anymore and That Sucks.” Jalopnik. Posted Nov. 25.
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