Bob Donahue replied:
> <My memory is failing me for an actual year, but I know the reason was to meet
> <with US regulations regarding crash-safety. At the same time, I believe, the
> <ride height went up on the cars as well.
> <
> <J
>
> I was under the impression that the bumper regulations had nothing to do with
> safety,
> at least the safety of the people in the cars. The idea was to have no damage
> in
> collisions under 5mph. This legislation was undoubably pushed through by the
> insurance industry. It made cars heavier, costlier, and uglier, but it saved
>the
> insurance companys a bundle. It was a terrible blow to sports car design, in
>my
> opinion.
This is my memory of the justification, also. In addition, there was a two
mph limit for the rear that was later rescinded. I don't know if I'm stating
the obvious or not, but the ride height increased for the rubber-bumpered B
because of the US bumper height laws. We're all supposed to drive cars that
have the same height, indestructible bumpers so that we can drive like we're
driving bumper cars. I was told that the B's rubber bumper was designed to
fit in with the style of the body, but that this made the bumper lower than
required so the entire car was raised two inches to make the bumper the right
height. I've always thought that it was a shame that the United States
ruined the B for the British.
If you see a picture of a Lamborghini Countach (sp?) with what looks like a
spoiler on the front, it's actually a bumper designed to meet the US bumper
height requirement. The front of the car is about a foot lower than the
bumper's supposed to be so the thing's mounted on posts.
Denise Thorpe
thorpe@kegs.saic.com
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