Scraped Rear Bumper

and lobbying is to /increase/ vehicle weights, not decrease them. it increases fuel consumption. that's why modern engines with variable valve timing, direct injection and fly by wire management are still giving inferior fuel economy figures to late 80's/early 90's vehicles whose management systems, while competent for their time, were nowhere /near/ as efficient as todays.

spelling - "fRame"

And your background regarding the location of crumple zones is exactly what?

Crumple zones behind the engine (if located there) are not there to sell more cars. Crumple zones are designed to guide big heavy components such that intrusion into the passenger compartment does not occur.

Here's a video from Volvo discussing this:

You neglect CAFE legislation.

i'm a materials guy. that includes sheet metal and its deformation - a topic that is deceptively complex. i've worked with the people that design them.

there's no "if". "if" you knew enough about what you were looking at, you'd see this for yourself at any junkyard.

they most specifically are. i've worked with the teams that have done the economics on this policy.

then deformation zones would be in front of the engine. but they're not. see above. [they don't intrude for other reasons, not because of frame deformation at 2.6mph.]

volvo sales schtick is volvo sales schtick. they /know/ that almost /all/ the people in the world that could authoritatively contest their marketing claims are employed by the industry, have signed non-disclosure agreements, and they're not going to say anything. see above.

apparently your knowledge of cafe is as good as your knowledge of structural deformation.