"the safety of F/G bumpers and the deletion of OEM components"
The OEM bumpers are reported to save the sheetmetal and return in a <5mph hit. Beyond that I can say the dampers they are mounted to are not just springs. . .the amount of enregy they absorb will go up with the speed of impact. Then, if pushed further, the front bumper appear to be designed to engage the tires (read: even more energy absorption)
"Does the space-saver spare really contribute to passenger safety? It helps to protect the fuel tank from splitting open.
Aside: I'll never forget a drivers ed. film, where they made comments about front mounted tanks and collisions. Then proceeded to show a bug rear-ending an AMC, with the bug quickly engulfed in a huge fire ball. . . .Followed up by showing a charred smashed bug . . . .with the tank intact, still full of gas!
Which begs the question; do you need your spare when drive amongst American cars?
