I'd rather have a few paint chips and bugs on the front of my car than such a ridiculous looking thing as a car bra.

A Most Embarrassing True Story: In the late 1970's I went to an auto accessory store in Santa Monica CA called Anything Ltd and ordered a car bra for my 1974 1/2 Jensen Healey. Several weeks later, my secretary - a royal pain in the ass under the best of circumstances - takes a call for me, and puts them on hold. Then then yells across the office " The leather bra you ordered from Anything Ltd is in!"

I worked at pep boys and advance auto for years… bull bars and brush guards were also aesthetic car accessories that was popular decades ago. Window louvers, exhaust tip covers, spinner rims, headlight eye lashes… all helped to make a cheap car look like an even cheaper car.

One reason car bras fell out of favor is that they did too good of a job protecting the paint and clear coat, so when you took them off you had a shiny front end that stood out from the more weathered exposed paint. It was a silly look without the bra on and only highlighted the fact that your car needed new paint.

In 1988 I was in the USA for a holiday and have seen quit a lot of sports cars with this "bra". I thought it looked ugly. If you want to drive an expensive car, then you have to take the consequences. After all, a partially paint job does not exactly break the bank.

A high school friend bought a second hand (more likely 3rd or 4th) Plymouth Laser with a bra. My first question after seeing a car of such little value was "What is that bra hiding?" He was shocked at my statement but peeled the bra back to show me the gem he purchased was pristine. Heavy front end damage was mended with Duct tape, zip ties and sheet metal screws. The other hint was the pop up headlights where up when the lights were off.

As 3M came up with the Scotchgard self "healing" transparent film, it is quite easy to understand why these vynil ugly bra vanished. The protection film is even used by manufacturers to protect certain areas. The first time I saw this manufacturer fitted films were on Renault Megane II. The protective film was applied on bodywork below doors and on rear wheels fenders.

The use of road salt during the winter in the USA may have been another reason why they were popular here. And paint quality definitely has improved since the 1980s, especially on American cars -- although that's not the case with all automakers. The paint on the two Mazdas I owned was very thin, and any chips started rusting almost immediately.

I would have said because people who would have got a car bra now have a wrap, which is sort of your answer.

I've always found the best way to prevent stone chips is to not drive too close to the vehicle in front😂. Also bonnet bras look naff!

This is the most hideous thing ever happened to automotive industry.

My dad put a bra on his 91 Ford Escort and it did a great job of preventing stone damage during his 100km commute to and from work; it also hid a dent that I put in his bumper. We only removed and cleaned the bra after the winter season. We were spared the ubiquitous hood lip rust but the rest of the car rusted away as did every car in the 90s; improved paint quality, rust control and big gaping grills have rendered these things obsolete.

Not the question we asked, not the question that needed answering, but the killer video we got

We went to St Petersburg in 2009 (Russia that is, not Florida - we're not going again anytime soon) and saw a lot of cars sporting these bras. We also saw some of the worst driving imaginable - apparently many people there never take lessons and just bribe their driving instructor to get a license.

I would say that PPF/clear bra has largely replaced car bras to retain an OEM look! Vinyl wraps are also popular for changing the look of the body!

I love the odd looking black bras. I never had one, but I really do like them. They’d usually be found on a sporty car, or a car that the owner takes pride in-which is always nice to see! I have had several clear bras on my latest cars. They work great and you’d never know they were there! Thanx fur another great video!

I remember back in the early 90's people WANTED to get these for their cars!

In the 80s in the USA when bra's were most popular, many states would spread gravel/grit instead of salt in the roads during frozen weather. After it was spread, it could be months before it was swept up. In the meantime, that grit would fly around the road and especially attack low sloping aerodynamic front ends. So it was very coming to see them on 240Z out RX7s.

We drove to the middle of Canada to visit some family. It's nothing but wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Our car started overheating and it was from all the bugs in the radiator!!! A local told us to get a car bra to keep them from reaching the radiator. So a practical use in that area.

I see them occasionally on vehicles being towed behind RV’s. The debris thrown up can seriously damage the towed vehicle since it’s following so closely. They’re also used to protect show cars being driven on highways to events. Some of those paint jobs are really expensive and the bra can save a lot in paint repairs.

Well if you look closely in a carpark you'll notice many cars have a clear wrap at the front of the car to protect them, I reckon this subtly replaced the car bra altogether because its no maintenance and practically invisible while still offering protection to the front of the car. I wanted to get a clear wrap when I bought a brand new car years ago but didn't bother in the end

To be honest, in trucking, years ago we started using clear film over the exposed painted surfaces. Professionally done, this film lasts for years without any particular maintenance. But I certainly remember car bras from the '90s, though they weren't wildly popular even back then, where I lived.

My car came with clear vynils wraps around the front bumper cover, fenders and mirrors as well as the trunk. I guess they're doing those now since they're unnoticeable.

On a related note, here in Australia during the 1990s, bonnet edge protectors and headlight protectors in clear plastic perspex were all the rage and offered as standard accessories by Ford and Holden for their local Australian models.

I remember seeing a lot of GTI's and other VW's back in the 2000's still driving around with those sports bra's, I think it was more for aesthetics than anything practical. Never understood why anyone would do that and think it looks good... then again, they were GTI drivers

Part of the problem is they either didn't communicate it well enough or people didn't care to remove them to clean the sand out regularly. That would grind the paint off in the corners rendering the protection pointless because you'd have to repaint the front end anyway.

Their still fairly popular in the Middle East, not so much for protection from stone chips and bugs more for protecting the front of your car if you end up driving into a sandstorm.

Until I retired, I worked as a sales representative and drove around 150,000 km (93,000 mls) on German autobahns every year. Often without a speed limit and preferably faster than is possible in the rest of the world. Of course, I also had broken windshields, but there was never any major damage to the body or paint by stones or bugs. My boss sold the cars after about 3 years, when the cars had about 500,000 km (310,000 mls) on the clock. The Saturday stop in the parking lot in front of the supermarket for the weekly bulk purchase with the family was much more dangerous for the paint and metal.

I would have guessed that ceramic coating may in part be responsible for their lower use.

Well. My car lied to me. She advertised as a 34C but when we met in the showroom she was 32A.

I'm glad you made this video, over the years I had seen these weird black/grey looking covers on the front of some cars and wondered what the hell they were...and actually, had no idea whatsoever until you made this video. Thanks!

One other use for the car bra is 'water tunneling" the rain. Those two raised bulges are meant to creat an aerodynamic distortion that pushes the rain to the sides, to the center and above the car, allowing a better view from the diving position. Needles to say that this is only functional above 90km/h.

Many collectors just use special clear coats that are quite resistant and can be renewed as the layer sacrifices itself through wear and tear to protect the actual paint layers underneath.

It’s funny this came up. I bought a used car last month with a very scratched and rusty front hood edge. I thought about getting a bra but quickly decided against it. I ended up using touch up paint and it looks good from 10 feet away.

I was browsing Google Street View and I noticed that in NYC several cars also have a similar rear bumper protection, I guess it helps to prevent parking dents

Used to be pretty common on Beetles because they had no radiator at the front and picked up a lot of chips in the paint. My mum’s second Beetle had a Perspex shield mounted on the front bumper to stop rocks.

I’ve had car bras used on cars I’ve bought and friends. The biggest issue for the cars I had is that the cheap used ones or ones that weren’t cleaned scratched my paint. Then the people I know that use it is that they just get tired of taking them on and off.

Funny coincidence, I started seeing these suddenly a day before this video released.

The paint used on the Urethane/plastic bumper has a flexible additive; the bumper area didn't chip as easily as the sheetmetal. Then bumpers grew to take most of the front airflow and chip abuse; thus making all the Bra inconveniences worth it for aesthetics reasons more than anything.

Love the Geo Storm thumbnail pic! Absolute gem!

Great video.

I had one on a Mustang. It was mostly a fashion statement of the time. Just like you mention, unfortunately dirt and water would get trapped underneath and they were never completely tight, so there would be some movement. It ended up causing far more damage than what would have happened without it.

Im just wondering if the car bra would cause problems with the rubbing and chafing of the paint work ?

I had one for my 1987 Acura Integra and liked it. It was easy to install, probably less than 5 minutes, quite snug-fitting and looked good on the car. I agree that on most cars they looked out of place and silly but on sports cars they often looked pretty good.

Would love to see you make a video on the history of VW Brazil/the VW Gol. Keep up with the brilliant and informative videos!

Great video. I have seen these on cars and like you, they don't look great to me and I never knew they were called bras. Some of other commenters mentioned film protection as a good way to protect your paintwork - like a screen protector for your phone.

"Where have they gone?"Well simple, to your home country, the UK^^. This is where I saw my first car bras ever when I moved there in 2020.

I'd heard the problem was abrasion. I once heard a salesman describe a brush guard on an astonishingly over-priced SUV as a 'rhino guard.'

Depending on the car some of them are actually quite nice to see on it Pontiac Solstice being Ace, as for the reason of their decline that boils down to Simple math, they're Very Expensive!!! 🤠👍

I use transparent car PPF (plastic protection film) on my headlights, front bumper & hood. Every year and a half I replace them. Been doing that for the last 11 years. Works great. I take the highway a lot. No chips or yellow headlights whatsoever :)

In the Middle East you can buy protection spray, you apply this spray over the nose of the car when the sand storms are here and it prevents the paint erosion but can be removed with a good wash 🧽 when no longer needed. It’s mostly a brown colour and does not look great on the common white car choice but does protect like a bra.

YOU, B.C., are the "D Cup" of all things automotive! THUMBS UP!

My Dad bought one here in Australia for his Calais in the 2000s, although he only used it for long trips around the country.

I believe it is because people are too lazy to do the needed maintenance that having a bra requires and the invention of other protective films that are now available. I used to have one on my car when I lived in a very rural farming area that had swarms of bugs and a lot of rocks on the roads (from agricultural vehicles driving from fields onto the roads). I found that it made a huge difference in keeping the front end of my car clean and did reduce chips from stones. But I also took the bra off at least every 2 weeks when I cleaned my car and if it had rained a lot I would take it off sooner. It did require a lot of extra steps, like waxing the front more often, but when I would show up at a car show I could take the bra off and stow it in the trunk and the front looked great. I admit that they didn’t look that great on, but it did save the front end front wear and tear which was more important to me. When I traded my car in, I had the bra off and in the trunk, and the salesman was amazed at how great the front end looked. Being the fact that I would park a half mile away to avoid car dings on the rest of the body, the car looked as if it had a new paint job.

I installed one on my C4 corvette few years back, really liked the look.

I live in Norway and have never seen this product before this video brought it to my attention.

We need a video on the Isuzu Piazza, given the car in the thumbnail.

They often "vibrated" at speed and left marks on the edges. Paint and body shops must have loved that.

Living in country South Australia in the 1980s I had one fitted to my Nissan NX-R with the intention of preventing stone chips on the frequent high speed trips to Adelaide. Aside from being a complete pain in the arse to fit and remove, the thing flapped on the bonnet at anything over 100kph and was likely to do more damage than it prevented. It was filed in a box in the shed and quietly forgotten. In those days trips through the mallee region were undertaken at speeds in excess of 100kph. I learned to put up with the stone chips.

Car bras have really been replaced with PPF as you mention but some people just colour wrap the car to get a new look which provides a similar level of protection. There is now a paint style PPF called clarity coat which makes an amazing job but is costly. I'd have to say that I have experienced stone chip damage on several cars I haven't applied a film to. 911s are particularily bad at getting chips on the bonnet/hood and the arches. The biggest barrier is cost. In the UK a full PPF wrap can be £5k or even more. It is often cheaper to respray the front of a car than put a PPF bra on it. One final point - many dealers respray the front of cars they part ex when they find road rash on them.

In Florida there are still plenty of bras around, but lots of people only fit them in "love bug" season. If that doesn't mean anything to you, love bugs swarm twice a year and if you hit a swarm they will plaster you car so thick you have to stop and scrape the windscreen before you can continue. Thing is, their guts are more acidic than bird poop, so there good reason to avoid contact with your paint. On one journey between Tampa and Orlando we had to pull off the road 3 times because of them.

I was in Montana for a couple of weeks in 1998 and I would estimate 25% of the cars had car bras on. They had a lot of gravel roads though and stone chips (and punctures) were quite a problem for them.

Another reason car bras disappeared are all those sensors and cameras on the front of new cars. They would be covered by the bra and not work any more.

Saw one today on a mk5 Golf estate. Classic

In Malaysia, we have loads of brands and solutions for automotive coating and paint protection film. By default, customers get it professionally installed and are accustomed to paying even USD 1,000 and above yo get it done.

Haha! I dare to admit that last year i bought a bra for my 1986 VW Caddy (Golf-Rabbit front). Just for the look of it. Genuinly eighties! 💪🏻

I had one for my 1986 Mitsubishi Mirage turbo back in the '80s but it rains so often here in Seattle that the paint would easily get damaged by the combination of water and dirt. That said at the time I did like the way it looked but then the Mirage was red with a black metal grill so the back bra fit right in.

It's a surprise that the potential moisture entrapment was seemingly forgotten throughout the 1980's and 1990's with the Car Bra, given that the entire previous decade was filled with colonnade-styled vehicles with vinyl roofs that basically trapped moisture and accelerated the rusting process for you. We never learn, do we?

I need to find one for my period correct 1990 MR2 Turbo build. The perfect cherry on top.

Had a bra for my orange VW SuperBeetle. Looked good, easy to install. Looked for one for a Focus SVT that saw 100 miles a day. It was a little more involved than I wanted to bother😂

I remeber seeing these here and there as a kid in the 90s and wenever i ask my friends they have no idea what im describing. And now i see this! Im not crazy!!

A relative of car bras are motorcycle tank bras. These were common in the 90’s and 2000’s especially for sport bikes as they protected the painted tanks from scratches when the rider gripped the tank with their legs. These were often marine vinyl painted and sewn to match the factory paint color and graphics for your particular bike. These have largely been replaced by clear adhesive wraps that are also rubberized to provide grip on the tank when leaning. I actually have one for my 2004 Honda CBR 600 F4i in black with sewn in yellow wing tips to match the factory paint livery. I think it matches the early 2000’s aesthetic quite well. And it also happens to hide some dents in the tank. But don’t tell anyone about that…

I moved to Australia in the 1990's. Car bras were (and still are) rare here. There was a pretty popular trend of having a transparent, protective plexiglass screen covering the front section of the bonnet (hood) to prevent stone chips etc. They were usually full of wet leaves, which kind of ruined the aesthetic goal.

The intro was brilliant 😂

My brother lives in Toronto, he said that people had the bras in the 70 & 80’s because the road surface was so crap it stopped the car from getting stone chips.

I own a 2011 Ford Flex in "Red Candy" clearcoat. Even after 188,000+ miles and three replaced windscreens, there are fewer than a dozen chips on the car's leading edges. It has to be the paint technology.

i had one on my 2003 jetta. just bought a 2023 and got a nasty rock h chip on my way to work… debating between touch up brushes vs a hood bra (or both). looks like i’ll go with the touch uo

Lol. I had this on my '87 Toyota truck,'01 Honda Odyssey and my '91 Civic. Always took them off during inclement weather.

When I first saw I asked what it was for. I was quick to point that it was pointless, nothing was stopping the rest of the car from getting damaged from stones.

Most bras are eventually taken off an flung to the side. These were kept on all the time leading to UV tan lines on paint if and/or when they are take off.

I've long wondered about these after seeing on as a boy while on holiday in the US back in the late 90's. The family member I was with didn't know what they were when I asked. So they've been a minor mystery ever since.

While you're at obscure accessories, here's another one I rarely see any more: Grounding straps usually from the rear fender to the road, touching the ground when parked. I think their purpose is to equalize the electric charge so you don't get shocked when touching the car.

Great video, actually never even knew these were called "car bras". Could you also explore the disappearance of bullbars/nudgebars in SUVs and pickups.

In South Africa there are thousands of minibuses used as taxi's, and in the early 2000's it became a fad for them to put those black vinyl car bra's on with slogans written on them in white vinyl letters.

The clear adhesive film has got to be the number one reason bras went away. A better solution in every way.

I had a "Nose Bra" on my car in the early 90's. In the American Mid-west, we called them Nose Bras. I had it mainly to protect the front end of my car from bugs and rocks. I had it on for less than a year for all of the reasons you stated. At the time, I thought it made my car look much better, now in retrospect, not so much. At the time I considered getting Louvers for my car as well. That's another car "fashion accessory" that has gone by the wayside. Perhaps you can do a segment on Louvers?

Something that I think impacted the Car Bra industry is wrappings. They serve more or less the same purpose, look stylish instead of silly if done right, cover the whole car instead of just a section, so the discoloration problem is non-existent; and you can draw anime girls on them!

RUDDY HECK. Hadn't seen one for years. Watched this, and I've seen two in Burton-on-Trent today?

I've always imagined that these things would cause way more problems than they prevent. If your car gets wet, it needs to dry again. It's pretty obvious that these will prevent that happening and hasten the dreaded rot.

I still have the front end bra for my 73 VW super beelte in mind condition. I am saving it for a super beetle again if I find one. 🤗

I thought it was April 1st for a minute. I dont recall ever seeing a car bra in my life. Can we have a video about the history of beaded seat covers next in this series X-)

I owned a MK2 Scirocco in the mid 80s bought a leather Colgan Customs from a guy at a car meet for the princly sum of $20. I was young, i thought they looked awesome, i drove A LOT so it did the job. I still have it somewhere in my garage or basement, the car has been gone for literal decades, but the bra survived 30-something years... Still looks like new.

I've definetly seen these before but had no idea they were called 'car bras'! Another issue with them is that not only do they look rather tacky, but depending on where they're placed they can block air coming into the engine which can be dangerous!

B R A V O - cool review !

I had a bra on my 2000 Saturn SL2. My car was black, and with some tasteful aftermarket wheels, I thought it made the car look awesome. I never really thought it protected the front end, though. For my later 2005 WRX, I settled for the black acrylic hood deflector, which I thought was better for actual protection (even if the dealer mis-installed it twice and both times they lost both a clip and a screw! I should have just ordered and installed the kit myself).

I had one for my Honda prelude 91. Don't have the car anymore but still have the bra.

I remember going to Canada in the late 90s and seeing these covers on cars and pickups, I put it down to north Americans doing a lot more miles and it also being a bit of a fad . They certainly look very American especially with the engine block heater plug hanging out too

I recently looked for a temporary one for a long car trip because I want to avoid bugs. Luckily we didn't travel at night so it wasn't that bad

When I bought my Triumph TR7 convertible, the previous owner included in the sale one for the TR7. It was a real heavy duty item made from leather, and had the Triumph laurel on the top of the cover. I did try and fit it, but being leather I think it must have shrunk a little because I struggled getting it on, I thought if I had time I could probably use an hairdryer on hot, to soften it up again, but I couldn't be bothered. I sold the car, but realised I'd forgotten to include the bra, so I still have it in a large box in the garage.

Big fan and love the bra on my VW van. It suits my 70's look. And it takes seconds to fit. However, l don't leave it one when parked.