Reading an old industry journal from 1998, I found out the average car had 40% less plastic body panels than today's models.

I dug it out of a box at a swap meet in Toledo, and it made me appreciate how much our material prep techniques have had to evolve in just 25 years.

3 comments

3 Comments

veraj536d ago

Seriously? That's not progress, that's a step back. Plastic panels dent if you look at them wrong and they're a nightmare to repair. Cars used to feel solid, now they feel cheap and disposable. More plastic just means lower quality, not better tech.

the_mila6d ago

My old Civic had plastic fenders and they never rusted, even after ten salty winters. I mean yeah they can crack if you hit something hard, but metal dents just as easy and then you get paint chips. The repair thing is overblown, most body shops can work with it fine now. It's not about feeling cheap, it's about not dealing with rust bubbles in two years.

johnson.faith6d ago

Wait, you're saying plastic dents easier than metal? That's the opposite of my whole life. I backed my old Saturn into a pole and the bumper just bounced back, no dent at all. Metal would have been crushed. The plastic just flexes. It's the whole point.