Where did all the chrome go...
New vehicles seldom have any chrome on them, the trucks at least still have some chrome on the bumpers... but we are in a serious lack of chrome here...
Is there any particular reason for this?
Where did all the chrome go...
New vehicles seldom have any chrome on them, the trucks at least still have some chrome on the bumpers... but we are in a serious lack of chrome here...
Is there any particular reason for this?
weight, aesthetics, cost....???
it just doesn't adhere to plastic too well. And the "chrome" that does looks cheap.
To downplay the whorish white trash appeal?
I dunno..... it may have to do with the "if it don't go, chrome it..." syndrome....
While "chrome" may have been de rigeur in 1958, it is currently a tad gaudy.... especially on trucks with the requisite chrome things that serve no purpose.
I believe the EPA had a hand in the disappearance of chrome-plated anythings. Chrome plating suppliers these days must adhere to a strict regimen of standards and practices regarding the process, such as chemical storage, disposal, etc. that translates to an enormous expense that they're not willing to incur. Or, if they've passed on these expenses to their customers, the customers are not willing to eat them.
I do remember a chrome plating shop that did have a lot of EPA paperwork. Also, if my 20 year old information has any truth to it yet, most chromium comes from Rhodesia and like most backward countries, they are only happy if they have a civil war going on and all manufactured goods have been disrupted.
Rhodesia hasn't existed for how many years now???? Zimbabwe now.
White trash? hmm.. seems to me the term 'bling bling' originated in the rap community - check out some rappers cars/suvs -- all chrome.. all over...
Like I said, 20+ years ago. Still is about the only place that chromium is mined.
Chromium is mined in the Canadian Shield, New Caledonia (in the south Pacific), South Africa, Albania, Brazil, China, Cuba, finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Iran, Madagascar, Morrocco, pakistan, the Philipines, Turkey, Russia, VietNam, and Yugoslavia.
Russia, Albania, and South Africa are the largest producers. Canada's output is very low.
NHTSA standard and cost, WBMG
mike
A small bottle of Chromic acid crystals was quite expensive a few years ago, here on the left coast! It fizzes like pop during plating, and will burn out the mucous membranes in your nose if any is inhaled.
Steve R. On the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
I don't believe in insulting an ethnic group unless I'm a member of it, which is why I made the dig at the white trash community. Also I didn't know there were any rappers back in the 1950s, the era of maximum chrome.
That's why I stuck with snorting Fizzies, Pop Rocks and Alka Seltzer :0)
It's ugly.
And automakers now paint things like bumpers to match the color of the car.
that is not the bumper. valance and it merely cover the energy absorber, plastic honycomb and syrofoam. the passenger compartment or coffin is really, hopefully not an energy absorber from the firewall forward and the backseat cusion to the trunk lock those are the "bumper" areas. oh yes you are safe but wait you disabled the seat belt waring buzzer and that air bag is coming at you really really fast but the seat belt is neatly coil up and snap goes the weasel
The era of chrome was reborn in the late 90s. I think the 50s chrome was more middle class anyway. But I do see your point.
Chrome resists damage from gravel roads much better than brittle enamel paints. Paved roads, much better paints, plastic panels, flex agents in paints = much less "need" for chrome.
"A Bit" of chrome adds a touch of class, a lot adds a touch of crass.
99-03 Windstars chrome accents, good sales, 04-present Freestars virtually no chrome and a corresponding # of sales.Cars are clothing & people that buy new cars want their cars to make them look good. A Bland Average car says the owner is Bland & average.
1990's Taurus revolutionary (good sales) 06 Taurus Bland, (poor retail sales). Sadly the US Car company's are dominated by Accountants and Risk Managers instead of racers and show off's.The world wants 57 T-Birds & 67 Mustangs, 59 Cadillac's. Instead they give us Focus, Fusion, Five Hund~erd's.
No Wonder they're F*d
you can thank the EPA for the demise of real chrome: the plating process produces noxious fumes and waste making it impractical (and that's why rechroming the bits on an old car costs a fortune). Likewise, the car companies haven't done us any favor with water-based paint that they attempt to preserve for a while with an inpermanent clear coat......the old enamels and lacquers painting processes gave off too many fumes to meet EPA emission standards, so we have "improved" paint jobs that look shiney - until they peel off.
by the mid-50s, most "chrome" grill work was really aluminum and better cars had real stainless steel trim.......very maintenance free and you didn't have to worry about a butterfly doing $850 worth of damage to the painted nose of your car....just wash the bugs off.
for a while we had flash-chromed plastic.....have always wondered how they managed to make plastic chrome pit just like potmetal!
Up until THESE abominations:
Now, do a google image search for 59 buick and olds
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