The new ones crumple like a coke can if you touch them against anything. I'm not a fan, as expensive as bodywork is these days, and with how much more irritating aluminum is to work with for your average shade-tree mechanic.
I can see the dilemma they have trying to keep up with CAFE standards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Average_Fuel_Economy...
Try that with a modern car, and it would've been totaled, or at least cost a small fortune to get fixed. Upon saying that, if I crashed the truck going 100 km/g (60 mph), I would have probably died. So even though more modern cars don't stand up to low speed crashes so well, they reduce fatalities a lot.
even the phone integration and annoyingly bad electronic gadgets and infotainment software are designed to get you to put down your phone when driving, or be more aware of your surroundings.
remember, the alternative is nearly everyone staring at their phones while driving, and the obvious fallout from that (people still do it, of course, hence the physical safety features).
this is the reality that car designers must deal with and a point that is totally lost on the majority of people who complain about 'new cars'. if they could sell you a 1200 pound tin can death-trap with insufficient power and torque, they would, and we'd buy it, because it gets 120mpg and costs $5000.
"actual bumpers" are quite likely the single most extensively regulated pedestrian- and collision-related safety part. there's extensive legislation about their design and characteristics.
car companies exist to make money, yes, but they operate within a global framework of strict regulation.
The bumpers today are underneath body panels, so a even a light accident isn't cheap or easy to fix.
My guess is they don't exist anymore for several reasons. Style, aerodynamics, etc.
The reasons for this is people can walk into solid objects at 5MPH without significant harm.
PS: Feel free to start with: 49 CFR Part 58
...or at least used to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_(car)#Stringency_reduce...
The OEMs make you sit deep in every car because that's how you get a 5-star rating. Then a bunch of people back over pedestrians and kids because in the real world more people will be put in a situation like that than will be in a high speed side impact.
Now the .gov mandates back up cameras...
What you describe sounds like a reasonable iterative process of identifying what’s likely to kill people and making it safer.
There's a direct trade-off between safety and visibility.