Why Are Car Bumpers So Ineffective?

JENNIFER PELOSE FELT like a superstar in her new Infiniti G35. Compared with her dowdy old Toyota, it had a luxurious leather interior and upscale touches like "speed-sensing steering." And she coddled it like a baby, washing and waxing it often.

But like many Americans, Pelose soon discovered that her car had an Achilles' heel: the bumper. One morning Pelose's neighbor backed her minivan out of her driveway and into the Infiniti's front end. At first the damage looked minor. But at the body shop, Pelose was told the headlights and fender were trashed and that the bumper cover required a total overhaul. "I couldn't believe there was so much damage," says Pelose, 34, of Yonkers, N.Y. Total repair bill: $2,563.

Have you noticed what's happened to bumpers lately? Once a car's first line of defense, the chrome-bar bumper of old has been tossed aside for a sleek-looking version, with soft plastic and a fancy paint job. The modern-day bumper may look great, but it can become the bane of an owner's existence, easily dented and incredibly expensive to repair. When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested the bumpers of 17 cars by crashing them into barriers at a mere 6 miles per hour, the average repair cost came to an eye-popping $4,500. Luxury models were the worst offenders of the group. The Infiniti G35 had more than $5,200 in frontal damage, nearly five times that of the Chrysler Sebring. But the headaches can be worse: As if to test drivers' patience, many carmakers now cram electronics and other pricey features right behind bumpers, creating even bigger ordeals. "Bumpers aren't doing their job," says Joe Nolan, a vice president at the Insurance Institute.

Bumpers, of course, weren't exactly a critical feature in car buying a decade ago. Repairmen say they were among the easiest features to fix because metal bars could often be straightened out in the shop. Indeed, in its recent crash test, the Insurance Institute included the all-time bumper champ, the 1981 Ford Escort, for comparison. The total damage came to $86. Its secret: a simple metal bumper attached to its body.

But as with everything today, style has overtaken substance in the world of bumpers. On most BMWs, for example, they sit snugly against the body to improve aerodynamics and, yes, the appearance. The design also improves fuel economy, no small matter in the age of $4-a-gallon gas. Bumpers also weigh less and typically are made of plastic reinforced with energy-absorbing foams and metal. That does create a trade-off between style and function, concedes Tom Wilkinson, a spokesperson at General Motors. But, he adds, don't blame the auto industry; buyers like the style too. "If people don't like the way a car looks, they won't buy it," he says.

Still, good looks don't impress insurance adjusters. Fender benders, many of which involve bumper repair, account for three-quarters of all collision claims, and it's no exaggeration to say that the eggshell nature of bumpers has contributed to rising insurance bills. (In 2006 alone, the tab for minor collisions came to $852 million.) Little wonder that in cities where parallel parking is common, drivers have taken to shielding their vehicles with grille guards or bumper protectors. Critics say it certainly doesn't help that federal crash-test standards were lowered in the 1980s. Test speeds went from 5 mph to 2.5 mph, and bumpers were allowed to sustain damage so long as they protected safety components like headlights and turn signals. Since the rollback, manufacturers "have had no regulatory incentive to improve bumper design," says Jack Gillis, director of public affairs for the Consumer Federation of America. Nor are bumpers a feature consumers can test-drive (jumping up and down on them isn't a good idea). "You can't look at a bumper and make an informed decision," says Gillis.

Even if consumers could pick out a strong bumper, it wouldn't help much on many models from Lexus, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, which put pricey cruise-control and collision-avoidance modules right near the bumper. (The modules alone can cost upwards of $2,500 in parts and labor.) Crack a Xenon headlight and you'll be out more than $800. Even hood ornaments add up; Jaguar's "Leaping Cat" retails for more than $400 (labor not included). BMW and other luxury brands have also switched to aluminum body parts and components to shave weight off their vehicles. But like a crushed soda can, aluminum parts can't be bent back into shape. The entire hood on a BMW has to be replaced if it gets dented by just a few inches, according to Fernando Mastroddi, general manager of Mastroddi Auto Body in Yonkers, N.Y. "Once these aluminum parts get hit, that's it," he says.

New-car buyers, of course, do have other options, like avoiding vehicles with the most sensitive bumpers. According to the Insurance Institute, for example, the Saab 9-3 and Audi A4 sustained the least damage in front crash tests, while the Mitsubishi Galant and Toyota Camry fared best among midprice cars. For cheap ways out of minor scrapes, there's the $40 "Bumper Bully," a piece of black rubber that attaches to the bumper with Velcro straps, or for $27, 2-inch rubber strips colored to match your car. But in Lexington, Ohio, Connie Garber is taking no chances. She now parks her Cadillac CTS in the "Siberia" section of the parking lot, following a pricey bumper-repair bill. "I just couldn't stand the dent," she says.