"Despatches from Europe"

[Old smart]

Here's a "despatch." Seems that the new formulation of 451 body panels (the exotic, soft, resilient ones), which they say are to meet pedestrian safety standards, are soft enough to suffer front-end stone dings, especially obvious on the metallic-painted ones. Maybe a leather "bra" ought to be an early accesssory.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by fishrdnc

Here's a "despatch." Seems that the new formulation of 451 body panels (the exotic, soft, resilient ones), which they say are to meet pedestrian safety standards, are soft enough to suffer front-end stone dings, especially obvious on the metallic-painted ones. Maybe a leather "bra" ought to be an early accesssory.

Ah, crap!...Hate those things.....on cars, anyway! LOL

[jwight]

Off topic! No leather bra discussions here

But seriously, it's probably the paint more than it is the panels. The newer environmentally friendly paint processes produce "softer" paint finishes that unfortunately don't hold up as well as they should.

[gamernotwatcher]

hmmm, the odds of an immediate color swap and lower base price is?

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by jwight

Off topic! No leather bra discussions here

But seriously, it's probably the paint more than it is the panels. The newer environmentally friendly paint processes produce "softer" paint finishes that unfortunately don't hold up as well as they should.

The problem apparently isn't the paint; it is the soft sub-strate, not paint chips, but deeper wounds.

[jwight]

I guess the answer is to avoid driving behind any trucks until somebody makes a bra for the 451; can't imagine how ugly that will be.

[Harleyduo]

As I was reading several of the posts on the Club Smart Car from Canada, I read about a company that installs a clear protective plastic film on cars so they don't have to have 'bras' and such on them. It's supposed to be quite invisible and quite durable and is almost impossible to detect as being present.

That kind of option might be a viable solution for stone chips. I'll try to locate the information and post it later if anybody is interested in such information.

[Harleyduo]

I located the website. There may very well be businesses in the U.S. that are doing this same application.

Here's where you can read about it: "http://www.autocleararmour.com"

[jwight]

3M offers this in the US; you can look for certified installers at:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3..._the/Consumer/

[Gortok]

Most window tint places do it, too.
That's who I'll be callin'...

;)