Life in pre-5mph bumper times. Below, another view that Dave (in comments) found online. Wonder what the story was.
Rumour also has it that Jaguar was unable or unwilling to fit the E type with bumpers to conform to the new regulations, so we got the XJ12 instead.
8 comments:
The 5 mph bumper law was changed to 3.2kph ,in the USA,so currently about 2mph.This happened in 1985.Not sure about Canada or South America.
I can't recall, if I ever knew, what degree of passenger safety those bumper setups (whether 2 or 5 mph) were supposed to guarantee. Was it something (a law drafted by the auto industry's lobbyists, perhaps) like "We promise that a 2mph collision won't cause the passengers to spontaneously go bald all over"?
Questionably pertinent NB: I think Jeane Kirkpatrick was running the U.S. highway safety oversight department (NHTSA) when the ugly-bumper law came along. This was before Reagan named her U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and just after she had been asked to resign from a senior role in Hell because she was too disagreeable.
Definitely not pertinent to Mr G's post: Kirkpatrick really had it in for motorcycles, motorcyclists, and bike manufacturers (except, mysteriously, for Harley-Davidson). In her attempt to publicly explain the NHTSA's proposed zillion-percent hike in bikes' liability insurance rates, she asserted that "some motorcycles weigh(ed) more than 2,500 pounds."
Sorry, I'll shut up now.
There's a second picture floating around, which makes me wonder if a minor British celebrity was involved.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/90/4a/8c/904a8cf6495725bb89f701e1a487978f.jpg
added to the post!
The 5 mph bumper law wasn't about passenger safety, it was intended to prevent any damage to a car in any collision under 5 mph. It was a reaction to high repairs costs for "fender bender" accidents.
The 5 mph bumpers added to the Fiat X1/9 had to have been the most ridiculous:
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_2122.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1
We had one abandoned at the garage I worked at and one of the guys u-bolted a piece of plywood to the bumper and used it to plow snow around, and it actually worked (although tire chains would have helped I think...didn't take much to stop it).
Here is a picture of the 1974 bumper 'arrangement'.
https://cdn.dealeraccelerate.com/frazier/1/771/49419/1920x1440/1974-jaguar-e-type
I came of age during the "rubber block" era.
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