Abstract: Collision impact energy-absorbing system for automobiles wherein the front and rear ends of the vehicle are structured into two stages or low and high speed plastic cellular modules such as foam. The impact modules are controlled by a combination of outer plastic skins and bulkheads. The system is designed to maximize the body crush or deceleration distance in order to minimize the "G" loads on the secondary crush zone and passenger compartment during head-on and oblique frontal and rear collisions. The system distributes kinetic energy over as wide an area and as evenly as possible through predetermined transmission paths through the system and into the stronger and heavier parts of the vehicle inner body and chassis structure.

Abstract: A motor vehicle damage and injury preventing system is disclosed. The system is based upon shock-absorbing bumpers extending over substantially the entire flattened front and rear ends of a specially designed vehicle and made up of a relatively thin sheet of compressible, rigid but bendable, shock-absorbing, impact-resistant material on the outer face of which is a relatively thick mass of cellular shock-absorbing plastic material. Typically a second relatively thin sheet of the impact-resistant material is provided on the outer portion of the cellular shock-absorbing plastic material and a second relatively thick mass of the cellular shock-absorbing plastic material is provided on the outer portion of this second sheet. In this way the second sheet can move inwardly and distribute the force of impacts during collisions over the entire area of the cellular plastic behind it and also over the entire flattened end of the vehicle.