# What’s the square cutout I saw on car bumpers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-square-cutout-i-saw-on-car-bumpers/636489 "2012-10-02T16:18:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-square-cutout-i-saw-on-car-bumpers/636489/21 "2012-10-03T15:44:14Z")
The big rectangular inserts are often for hitches too. > [@Enigma42](#): > > I’ve heard before that these are for towing hooks, but I still have a question about their function. I see these on lots of cars these days, but they are never centered. Wouldn’t a tow hook be optimally placed as close to the centerline of the vehicle as possible? > > For tie-down applications, I can see it not making much difference. But if the vehicle is moving I would think it would tend to cause the car to veer to one side. Is that not much of a concern after all? It doesn’t make much difference. They’re not for towing so wouldn’t normally be used while moving, but I’ve towed and been towed by off center tow hooks and it only pulls to the side slightly. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-square-cutout-i-saw-on-car-bumpers/636489/22 "2012-10-03T21:23:24Z")
Look at the front of a 4WD truck sometime. They generally have an off center hook on the front end of one of the frame rails, and a tie-down loop on the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-square-cutout-i-saw-on-car-bumpers/636489.md?page=1)