Posted on 07/11/2010 2:36:41 PM PDT by Amerisrael
Notice anything missing on many of today's new automobiles?
How about sturdy chrome front and rear metal bumbers?!
Plastic bumpers with a styrofoam inside. What does that protect against!
Forget the chrome, many of todays new vehicles don't even have bumpers. Instead, their front end just sticks out a little more. Like the ones pictured in a new car lot below:
Your off to work early in the morning before the sun comes up. At 5:30 in the morning the parking lot is nearly empty. The sun is just now coming up. For a split second you get "blinded" by the sun. In that second, you have a 2 mile per hour collision with a metal parking sign.
Metal sign pole meets plastic bumper. Guess which one withstands the impact and which one sustains the damage?
These days a minor 2 mile per hour mishap can cost hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars in damage that may have been prevented with adequate "chrome" bumper protection.
Not to mention the inconvenience of "shop-time" for your vehicle.
But that's the whole idea behind why the auto industry keeps making vehicles harder to repair yourself, and more damage-susceptible.
Take a good look at this 1985 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the photo below. Notice the front and rear chrome bumpers. That's not all, check out the headlights. Easy to adjust and remove "headlights". No-headlamp "assembly". In addition, there is a chrome metal grill that runs all the way across the front end.
Now here's a photo of a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee below:
Plastic bumper with styrofoam inside. Also notice, instead of normal "headlights", there is now a "headlamp assembly". Also, notice the lack of a "metal" front grill. And behind that front
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Matte metal bumpers okay, but chrome is far too reflective on a bright sunny day! It blinds oncoming drivers too easily.
That is how my roommate wrecked my 240SX coupe. Cept it was another car, both going 2 to 5 mph. Car still drove but the front 6 inches completely caved in.
Wow - this is such a coincidence! I was just discussing this with my hubby on the ride home today. I saw a rear bumper (plastic mind you) that had been torn off by the rear driver side. I was stating to him why do they not have the wrap around bumpers like the olden cars use to. What the heck is that protecting? There was practically no sign of any bumper under that plastic that was ripped off.
I want my old cars back. Even I use to be able to fix them if I broke down on the side of the road.
Now that’s sporty, for sure!
Unfortunately you’re right. Two things driving this madness; government edict to increase gas mileage and the easiest way is to lighten the weight of the materials that the parts are constructed of, hence easy demolition. As for the car being designed so that the only way any work can be done on it is at the dealer vs. the home handy mechanic, forget it. Those days are over. The dealer and the manufacturer have it in for you from the moment you buy the pig until you get rid of it, kind of like the government medical care program....cradle to grave pickpocketing. Enjoy.
Now that is an American car. The Golden Era of America. The car may not have been very safe, but you sure looked good in it. And it was fully made in the U.S.A. before we were dependent on everyone else. That era is gone forever. Forever.
Oops - Fairlane
*** Your off to work early in the morning ***
“Your”???
I’m crying looking at that beautiful baby. I want my childhood back when that car came off the assembly line in Detroit. As a matter of fact, I want America back the way it used to be. But I know that, as well as Detroit and American cars reigning supreme, is a fantasy. I really cry for my children and grandchildren. They’ll never know how great America really was, for a relatively short period of time in history.
What is a bumber?
Probably not a good idea...then we’d have another union to f*** with...the Chromeworkers of America or some silly crap.
The USA was a better place when Bumpers were chrome and TV was in Black&White.
Modern cars look like jellybeans on wheels.
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