Uptown Body & Fender

Interesting Facts About the History of Car Bumpers

Most of us know that bumpers protect us from serious injury during a collision, but what else do you know about this constantly evolving automotive part? At Uptown Body & Fender, we repair all kinds of bumpers for our customers in Oakland and all over the State of CA, so we're delighted to share this information with our blog readers.

The earliest bumpers were initially just rigid metal bars that were produced primarily by skilled blacksmiths. The very first bumper appeared on a vehicle all the way back in 1897, and it was installed by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a Czech car manufacturer. The construction of these first bumpers wasn't sophisticated and made mostly for cosmetic reasons.

Early automobile owners had the front spring hanger bolt changed out with ones that were long enough to be able to attach a heavy metal bar. Inventor G.D. Fisher patented a bumper bracket to make the attachment of the accessory easier to install.

The very first bumper that was designed to absorb impact came into reality back in 1901. It was almost entirely made out of rubber and Inventor Frederick Simms received the patent for this invention in four years later.

Bumpers were integrated by carmakers back in the mid-1910s, but consisted mostly of a strip of steel across the front and rear of the vehicle. Often treated as a discretionary accessory at first, bumpers became more and more common in the early 1920s as auto designers made them more complicated and substantial over time.

Over the next several decades, chrome plated bumpers became very heavy, highly elaborative and increasingly decorative, until the late 1950s when U.S. manufacturers began coming up with new bumper trends and brand-specific designs.

In the 1960s, the utilization of lightweight chrome plated blade-like bumpers with a painted metal valance hit the market. Multi-piece construction became the standard as automakers incorporated enhancement such as grilles, lighting, and even rear exhaust into some bumpers.

On the 1968 Pontiac GTO, GM created an "Endura" body-colored plastic front bumper that was designed to absorb low-speed force without permanently damaging it. It was first featured in a TV commercial with John DeLorean hitting the bumper hard with a sledgehammer without any  damage as a result. Similar elastomeric bumpers were also available on the front and rear of the 1970-71 Plymouth Barracuda, and In 1971, Renault introduced an all- plastic bumper on the Renault 5.

Today's bumpers consist of a plastic cover molded over a reinforcement bar made primarily of steel, fiberglass composite, aluminum or plastic. Bumpers of most modern passenger automobiles are made of polycarbonate (PC) and Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) called PC/ABS.

Yes, bumpers have come a long way and today they protect drivers more than ever. If you ever damage your bumper for any reason, simply give us a call.

 Uptown Body & Fender, 401 26th Street, Oakland, CA 94612 

Sources: Wikipedia, NHTSA and AAA