Rust on battery?

Go back a few decades, and these bumper repair issues did not exist.

The actual bumper was out there, not sheathed in a painted plastic fairing, and typically faced with a durable/utilitarian black rubber contact strip.

And expectations were different: cars were not rolling sculptures.

 

Go back a little further, and the "durable/utilitarian black rubber [or plastic] strip" was missing from the chrome-plated (or painted, on base model trucks) steel. Thin bumpers on some models, some years, were very easily bent.

I've owned 1954, 1972, 1981, and 2011 cars. The '54 and the '81 came with reasonably functional bumpers. The '72 and '11 didn't.

Cars have been "rolling sculptures" since way, way back, according to the tastes and fashions of their respective times.

 

Yeah I was thinking along those lines. Our '81 Civic was the beginning and end of good bumpers for us, lol.

 

In 1974 all cars were mandated to have bumpers that could withstand a 5mph hit without damage to lights, safety equipment or engine. In 1980 the requirement was toughened to require no damage at all from a 5mph hit. In 1983 the speed requirement was lowered to 2mph.

We had a few good years with decent bumpers, and now we're almost back to square one.

 

... because of complaints that the 5-mph bumpers were ugly, heavy, expensive, and inconsistent with good aerodynamics. Now we have sleek but fragile 2-mph fairings (as Mendel calls them) that are even more expensive, and likely nearly as heavy overall.