Design Details: Rear Bumper Gaps Edition

"Amoore100" (amoore100)
08/06/2015 at 21:21 • Filed to: Design Details, Toyota, Camry, Bumper, Panel Gap, Lexus, IS

Seeing as its Thursday, it looks like time for another round of Design Details...

Bumpers are generally something we don’t think of on a daily basis unless this there’s a conversation about US market vehicles from the 1970’s...since then, however, automakers have had free(er) reign on how to mount bumpers to their cars, and especially in the case of the rear bumper, have created interesting designs out of the resulting panel gap. Therefore, that is today’s topic: rear bumper panel gaps. In my personal experience, there are a few cars that I have come across with oddly unique or recognizable patterns for this occurrence.

For example:

XV40 (Don’t judge just because I get Camry model numbers wrong...) had these weird zig zag creases to follow the taillights...

And Lexus uses it as a major design element for the taillights of the new IS...

So what do you think?

What are the most distinctive rear bumper creases/panel gaps/whatever its called?

DISCUSSION (36)

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:24

Kinja'd!!!

Love how this line carries from the tail light down to the from wheel well.

TheHondaBro > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:25

Kinja'd!!!

I love how Lexus integrated the rear bumper with the side skirts like this. Very smart design choice.

Amoore100 > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
08/06/2015 at 21:32

At first I hated it but it’s growing on me...

Alex B > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:32

Kinja'd!!!

I find this pretty meh.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:42

Its a bit extreme but it’s something. Sick of seeing tail lights just stuck on the rear without any notion to the body lines (Ford Taurus). Which is peculiar in itself because the fusion has some awesome lights IMO. I dig the “feather” look.

Kinja'd!!!

Amoore100 > Alex B
08/06/2015 at 21:44

That’s rather awful...not just a boring straight line and then that icky kink at the end...

KyngOfPop > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:47

Kinja'd!!!

So glad this post was made so that I can blow off some steam. The Elantras trunk to bumper line that extends down excluding the taillight but needing to go into the bumper itSELF causes my brain to explode every time I SEE it!! Why did they DO that?! It's hideous and needs to be stopped before I have a stroke the next time I see one! It seems congruent to the untrained eye but to an enthusiast it makes the rear end look squat...smushed in even. Hatred for this design flub is an understatement!

Amoore100 > KyngOfPop
08/06/2015 at 21:50

You’re welcome...and you’re also completely right...

Milky > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 21:52

Love the i8’s lack of a part line because of the color break up.

Kinja'd!!!

and for the same reason I hate the Impreza Outback’s attempt at two-tone. The bumper shape itself is not pretty and the horizontal part calls out that it was an after thought.

Kinja'd!!!

Also, Ram HD’s front bumper fill-in-below-the-headlight-piece makes my eye twitch.

Kinja'd!!!

Amoore100 > Milky
08/06/2015 at 21:55

The i8’s bumper still looks like it’s pooping a 991 rear...and the many colors kind of distracts from anything else...the Impreza Outback is pretty awful in two tone because of that bumper line...and that under headlight treatment is pretty prevalent in trucks, isn’t it?

KyngOfPop > Milky
08/06/2015 at 22:01

The i8’s bumper is kind of artsy and showed they put some thought into the design whereas to not make it look haphazard. That Impreza with its faux two-tone look is downright bordering vile lol

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:04

I have to say, I’m pretty anal about design stuff like that but usually don’t pay any attention to bumper lines. I guess because I have this probably false idea in my mind that the designers had little say in where it went and it was more down to the engineers. Plus I think the IS is the only car where the placement isn't slightly annoying.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:18

Kinja'd!!!

I’m guessing that the little panel under the light is the gas cap but it kinda looks weird.

Amoore100 > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/06/2015 at 22:24

Yep, it is, and yep, it looks kind of weird...

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:25

Well at least I know what it is now.

Alex B > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:26

Yeah!

I really enjoy these segments. They're interesting.

Milky > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:38

The Silverado has done away with the fill in piece, Ram is the last one as far as I know to still do that.

hike > Amoore100
08/06/2015 at 22:42

I always thought the Infiniti G35 had an odd panel line.

Kinja'd!!!

Trevor Mohr > Alex B
08/06/2015 at 22:47

I drive those at work. They are 100% meh. I don’t know what’s worse - Having a V6 as the only option in a full-size big Caddy (not that it’s not powerful enough, but it’s a Caddy so...), or the possibility of having them bring back the leaky Northstar V8 haha.

Alex B > Trevor Mohr
08/06/2015 at 22:48

Do you work at a funeral home? ;-)

The XTS is going to be replaced by the CT6 so it doesn't really even matter at this point.

Trevor Mohr > Alex B
08/06/2015 at 22:52

You just named the target audience. XD

I work at my local GMC/Buick/Cadillac dealer. I’m a lot person so I stock in all the cars, organize them, take care of the paperwork, do swaps (trades), and also gas them up.

We have two XTS models on the lot at the moment, one of which has been sitting there for almost 500 days now, and the battery is dead to the point where it takes two jumper packs to start it up.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/06/2015 at 23:54

I always liked that fuel door. better than just a random square, or circle on the rear quarter.

However if we could go back to having filler caps hidden behind the license plate that would be awesome.

Kinja'd!!!

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Amoore100
08/07/2015 at 00:07

The Mk4 Golf is kinda nice, how the line curves from the top pf the hatch all the way down to the wheel well.

Kinja'd!!!

The MK5 also did this. I like how the line also parallel to the rear of the door.

Kinja'd!!!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/07/2015 at 00:13

I want to own a car with a license plate filler cap. Do we know why they stopped doing it?

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/07/2015 at 00:16

Probly some safty, or cost effectiveness bullshit!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/07/2015 at 00:21

My best guess would be rear collision as well.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/07/2015 at 00:23

It does kinda seem that would lead to gas leaking out everywhere in a rear end collision.

Amoore100 > Alex B
08/07/2015 at 00:45

Which segments...you mean this series? :P

Amoore100 > hike
08/07/2015 at 00:46

I wonder what the bumper alone must look like...

Amoore100 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/07/2015 at 00:46

To me that’s almost a Golf trademark at this point...

Amoore100 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/07/2015 at 00:47

We used to have an old 90s Caprice that had that...properly awesome land-barge...I assume it stopped because of Pinto-like problems in rear-end accidents, though obviously not to a degree as bad as the Pinto...

Amoore100 > Milky
08/07/2015 at 00:50

It would look better painted for sure, which is what they must do on higher level trims...

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Amoore100
08/07/2015 at 01:02

I do like that it’s been brought back for the MK7, and it’s sharper design.

Kinja'd!!!