John DeLorean and urethane bumpers - in the 1960's

[Rich]

Most DeLorean owners know that the front and rear fascias on DeLoreans are made of flexible molded urethane, similar to bumper caps used on many upscale cars at the time and now used on almost every modern car.

How many of us know that John DeLorean played some role in the adoption and popularization of "urethane bumpers" back in the late 1960's when he was with General Motors?

For extra credit who can come up with the trademarked name that GM used for their urethane bumpers back then?

It's all here:

http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/...feature26.html

You're watching television in 1968, a car-crazy kid, when John DeLorean, dressed in a suit, appears on the screen. He holds a sledgehammer and stands next to a brand-new red 1968 GTO, so you decide to sit through this commercial. But why's he got that sledgehammer? Then, almost without warning, he raises it, and WHAM!, hits the front bumper of the GTO. Your eyes go wide at the close-up of the hammer hitting the painted nose of the car, and you expect all sorts of damage to ensue.

But ... nothing. The bumper pops back into its normal shape with hardly a mark on it. A rubber bumper? Of course!

These first-gen urethane bumpers were not the same as the urethane fascias or bumper caps we know on our cars. But they were made of urethane and it was the start of a trend that changed automotive design. No surprise that JZD was involved.

[Chris 16409]

"Endura bumper"

[Citizen]

In the 80's, I saw a commercial where a guy took a baseball bat, and tried for a grand-slam on the grill of a GMC S15 pickup truck (or was it a Chevy S10). No damage what-so-ever. I'm not saying that the commercial help sell the truck, but I know here it is 30 years later, and I still remember the commercial.

As an aside, unrelated story, I ended up buying an 88 S10 (and still have it today, runs fine), but it doesn't have the indestructible grill on it.

Thomas

...

[Jimmyvonviggle]

While I knew He invented this bumper, I think it is one of the worst things for cars. Bumpers are meant to be bumped. Today if you hit your car with a modern "bumper" you are f@$cked. A small little accident that would have been stopped by a real bumper will be thousands of dollars in damage.