Anytime you hit the road, your vehicle faces rocks, debris, bugs and many other enemies that are waiting to lay waste to your hood and grille. Safeguard your sensitive leading-end paint with a car bra, sometimes known as a car mask or front end mask, to:

• Preserve like-new paint

• Ensure resale value

• Eliminate worry from dings and dents

• Sport classic race-inspired looks that virtually scream speed

A guide to protecting your paint with a car bra

Your vehicle's front end is confronted by a barrage of attackers every day. Whether it's tire-tossed rocks, flying debris or exploding bugs, your paint ends up bearing the brunt of your commute. The results can be distressing: dings in your grille detail, chipping of your paint layers, and evil scratches. Not only are they unsightly, these damage marks also invite rust underneath your paint.

To stop this process, car bras employ thick vinyl material for deflecting these airborne adversaries away from your vehicle's finish. Small dings and scratches can't get through your car bra's outer layer, leaving your paint pristine.

Car bras protect your finish underneath the vinyl layer, too. They employ soft, paint-safe linings that pamper your vehicle and complete the network of protection over your front end. When installed properly, the quality protective outer layer, soft inner lining and custom-tailored fit ensure perfect front-end paint condition. You get like-new looks, boosted resale value and extra satisfaction with your vehicle.

Each type of car bra has its own unique set of upsides to choose from:

Full front end car bras

The original bra design is still overwhelmingly popular with today's cars, trucks, SUVs, vans and minivans.

These bras offer complete shielding for your vehicle's front end and look great, too. They employ separate pieces for the hood and grille/bumper sections of the bra, allowing full engine compartment access. Plus, they're designed to accommodate whatever factory air dams, pop-up headlights and driving/fog lamps your vehicle uses.

Sport bras

Same paint-protecting concept in a smaller-scale version. Sport bras fit just the leading end of the hood of your vehicle, stopping paint damage in the most commonly attacked area. The popular feature of sport bras is they allow the original looks of your vehicle to show through. And, they feature the same custom-tailored crafting as a full front end bra.

T-style bras

Designed from the same concept as sport bras, T-style bras stand guard over the larger hoods of trucks, SUVs, vans and minivans. Because these autos have raised hoods and significantly more vulnerable paint, T-style bras cover the leading edge and the center of the hood, stretching from front to back. They attach in much the same way as a sport bra and allow full hood access.

How much of your front end do you want to cover?

Each style and shape of car bra covers a different amount of the front end of your vehicle. The more paint your car bra covers, the more paint is protected. The less area the bra covers, the more your vehicle's original looks can show through. It's all a matter of personal preference.

When you want to cover the most possible area of your vehicle's front end, select a full front end car bra If you want to protect the most vulnerable paint on your front end and still show the original looks of your vehicle, pick a sport bra To safeguard the exposed, sensitive hood of your truck, SUV, van or minivan, grab a T-style bra.

Although this might sound like more fashion information than the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, I'm convinced that car bras serve many purposes and will continue to be a hot dress-up item for vehicles in the future....:)