Plastic or Metal
IndyCar vs 1957 Chevy
Bumper repair is projected to cost between $950-$1,600. On average the cost to repair a bumper is $1,300. Those numbers reflect another generation of vehicles with today’s cost of bumper repair soaring even higher. Bumpers absorb and dissipate energy away from the cabin to protect the driver and passenger from a collision. Powerful pieces of steel, metal, or plastic for protection are no longer seen on vehicles. Bumpers are a lost generation of regulatory failure. What we have is, a failure to communicate, and car enthusiasts to soccer mom’s miss their metal and plastic bumpers.
These unsung superheroes of a lost generation, remind us of a comic book collection that will never make it to the big screen for the big Hollywood payday. Superheroes have 350 cubic inches of thunderous power with external shields. They come in vibrant colors, shapes, and sizes that serve a purpose, stopping energy at 5 MPH. The bumper that stole the hearts of car enthusiasts, 1957 Chevy.
Today’s bumpers are internal shields that protect the vehicle and passengers from the inside looking out. Technology, aerodynamics, and federal law has regulated the bumper as an eye sore and thus the reason to eliminate a part of Americana. Bumpers of today don’t protect anything protruding forward. The lights, cameras, and sensors are exposed to the dangers of driving. Maybe by design or regulation, the bumper is part of American automotive history and is missed in the automotive world.
Steel bumpers can take a pounding and deliver a knockout punch. Plastic bumpers, they may absorb some force, but nothing is like a classic metal bumper. Once upon a time, bumpers performed an essential duty; take a 5 MPH direct hit, with little to no damage to the vehicle. Bumper philosophy changed when the bumper magic was stolen in 1982.
Plastic or polypropylene bumpers are manufactured to absorb energy. When we compare plastic bumpers to metal bumpers, metal is a stopping force that delivers a counter punch while plastic bumpers are designed from materials to absorb energy and disperse. A good comparison is an Indianapolis 500 car to a 1957 Chevy. The Indy car is a bumper bullet designed to take impact from a direct hit on the wall at high speeds and bounce off the wall.
The 1957 Chevy is made of steel with a metal bumper that may cave in toward the driver at high speeds when it hits the highway median. The driver may absorb the energy.
If you have been involved in an accident, need bumper repair, or your vehicle paint color matched, call Brown Collision Center in Charlottesville, VA (434) 984-8400 to have one of our I-CAR Gold certified technicians evaluate your vehicle’s condition after a road crash.