My car has French boobs?
Written: Jan 06 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good quality, low cost, excellent fitment
Cons: Can give your car a 'juvenille' look
The Bottom Line: -
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| carnut2k4's Full Review: LeBra Front End and Mirror Covers |
Now I understand why we always refer to our vehicles as ‘she’ or ‘her’
There’s nothing worse than tooling down the road and finding yourself right behind a semi. Your stomach clenches and you nervously poke around the sides of the truck looking for your opening. What is it about being behind a truck that makes us crazy? Those friggin rocks – that’s what. All those pebbles sand-blasting away at your front end and windshield can just drive you nuts. Luckily there are ways to fight this.
A couple of decades ago LeBra started selling their automobile front end covers. For a while there it seemed more a fashion statement than a necessity. I was skeptical at first. In fact I didn’t buy one until I had to recently. The LeBra is a fitted cover which is attached to the front end of your car and which covers the bumper, front edge of the fenders and the first few inches of the hood. Headlights and factory driving lights have cutouts and the hood ‘bra’ is actually a separate piece allowing normal operation of the vehicle without ever needing to remove the bra. They’re constructed of a ‘leatherette’ looking vinyl and the lining is a softer material that seems to not be abrasive. The manufacturer advises the product is ‘micro-perforated’ to allow for quick drying. In fact proper usage of the product means never taking it off. Not even at the car wash. All LeBras are offered in black. If you want to pony up another ten bucks you can get one with a boy-racer paint scheme splashed on it – although that virtually assures you will be mocked relentlessly should our paths ever cross.
My first bra
Almost two years ago I was making plans to sell my car, a 1999 Saab 9-5. I’m a fanatic so the car was in great shape - except for the front bumper. There were quite a few depressions, which were caused by the license plate screws of other vehicles. The car lived briefly in Manhattan and bore the scars for a lifetime. In preparation of the sale I decided to fix the bumper, I wanted it to be perfect. Well, something went awry. It looked great for a few weeks and then the bubbles started showing up. Then a crack or two. Best guess is a disagreeable chemical reaction between the plastic filler I used and the paint. Oh well, I tried. I decided not to repaint it. That’s where LeBra enters the story. I got online and ordered one. I wasn’t sure what to expect but was willing to try anything to keep from re-painting that bumper.
When I took it out of the box I was both impressed and a little worried. It was more substantial than I expected, but the installation directions / diagram were clearly the work of an imbecile. I gave it a shot. Starting with the main piece I quickly realized that the various tethers, snaps and metal tabs were meant for very specific locations. Once you figured out a starting point the rest simply fell into place intuitively. The metal tabs were the predominant means of attachment and they were straight until you bent them in half and ‘hooked’ them onto the appropriate part of the vehicle. After the first several attachments were made I realized I was stretching the LeBra with each new hook. The headlight cutouts needed to be manhandled to make them fit perfect and the end result was a black vinyl cover that was sculpted to the cars contours and was perfectly even and a dead on match with the cars lines. The hood piece went on even easier. Two tethers and some tabs was it. On the top of the hood are two vinyl loops around eight inches long each. A plastic tube is inserted to keep the form of these loops. I believe this is strictly cosmetic and the wind can make them bounce a little as you’re driving. The LeBra gave the car a whole new, aggressive look. I told the buyer about the chipped bumper but it didn’t make any difference. The Saab looked like a brand new car thanks to the bra.
In fact
It looked so good, I put one on my wife’s Saturn VUE not too long after. Same idiotic instructions, same half hour or so to install it. It looks fantastic and has made it through at least thirty car washes so far. Some of the seams are starting to look a little frayed but the overall appearance is still awesome. It’s been about a year and a half since I put my wife’s bra on (couldn’t resist) and I figure if she still has the car in another year I’d probably put a new one on. Not bad considering the website sells them for $93 for essentially every car out there.
Lastly
This product has never interfered with the safe operation of the vehicle. I’ve peeked under it expecting to see a difference in paint color. No such difference existed. In the case of the Saturn the headlights are of course not blocked but the factory driving lights do not have cutouts. Instead they have clear plastic windows in front of them. I was a little concerned about that but have come to find it does not have any bearing on the function of those lights. It’s as if there’s nothing in front of them. The product does exactly what it is supposed to do. It helps prevent paint damage to the front bumper and it conceals any damage that already exists. These were hundreds of dollars when they first hit the market but the proliferation of competition and presumably advanced production methods have really made this an affordable no-brainer. I’d recommend LeBra for any vehicle application. It will make any car with bumper scratches and dings look better. Unless you drive a LeCar - sorry, nothing will make that thing more appealing.
Recommended:
Yes
Ease of Application: Good; takes little time to apply
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Epinions.com ID:
carnut2k4
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Member: Jason
Location: in the wind
Reviews written: 99
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
The pool's in but the patio ain't dry
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