History

• Frederick Simms invented the car bumper in 1901. The first car bumpers were made of metal beams attached to both the front and rear of a car for the purpose of protecting a car in a low-speed collision.
  
  

Materials

• Generally, car bumpers are made of a plastic cover reinforced by a bar made of steel, fiberglass composite, plastic or aluminum. In addition to crushable brackets and a bar, bumpers sometimes incorporate polypropylene foam or formed thermoplastic. These additional components act as spacers between the bumper and bar, not as energy absorbers.
  
  

Importance

• Bumpers protect important equipment on your car such as headlights, taillights, hood and exhaust and cooling systems. These components are all expensive to replace, and a bumper can eliminate or reduce the costs of repairing them.
  
  

Attributes

• The attributes of a good car bumper include geometry, energy absorption and stability. These traits allow a bumper to line up flush with an opposing bumper in order to absorb any impact and maintain stability.
  
  

Types

• While most bumpers have a standard design to protect important components on a car, some are designed for style. This emphasis on style often reduces a bumper's, resulting in decreased effectiveness in resisting damage during a crash.