Many of the auto parts aftermarket companies along with SEMA have active sites to both inform and organize resistance to various states attempts to tighten exsisting federal rules reagding things like automobile bumpers. They do it to protect hobbyists, street rodders for example, so they can remain creative with their vehicles. I found the following at Advance Auto Parts web site. I think it pretty much explains where things were between 1979 and 1982 regarding Federal expectations regarding automotive bumpers. Manufacturers had to do whatever it took to confine low impact damages to only the bumpers. Bruce Benson http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/youcan/html/ccr/ccr20040701bs.html Bumper Function The function of the bumper is to absorb crash energy without significant damage to the bumper itself and no damage to the vehicle's front or rear end. Generally speaking, today's bumpers are made with a reinforcement bar of steel, aluminum, fiberglass composite or plastic with a plastic cover. The system includes crash absorbing mechanisms that compress on impact, such as polypropylene foam or plastic honeycomb. The most effective bumpers are positioned with distance between the reinforcement bar and the vehicle's sheet metal. To guarantee that automotive bumpers worked well, the federal government developed safety standards in the early 1970s. The first standard prohibited damage to safety related equipment in low-speed, 5-mph crashes. Prohibitive Damage The next phase, effective for 1979 models, PROHIBITED DAMAGE EXCEPT TO BUMPERS AND THEIR ATTACHMENTS IN LOW SPEED CRASHES. These standards only applied to passenger cars, not the generic light-truck category that includes pick-ups, SUVs and vans or minivans. BETWEEN 1980 AND 1982 THE STANDARDS GOT A LITTLE TOUGHER, PROHIBITING ALL BUT MINOR DAMAGE TO BUMPERS. THE AREA OF PROTECTION WAS DEFINED AS 16 TO 20 INCHES ABOVE THE ROAD SURFACE. The automotive industry met these standards and in some cases exceeded it. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/