The oldest and most common method, the overhead system (OHS), uses a conductive floor and ceiling with opposing power polarities.

[4][5] Depending on the level of enforcement by operators, these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders, especially younger children and teenagers.

[6] In the early 1920s, a patent was granted to Max Stoehrer and his son Harold for an "Amusement Apparatus" which became the basis for their Dodgem cars.

After getting permission from Chevrolet, then subsequently buying the actual Corvette chevrons from local Philadelphia dealers, those were attached to the nose of their product for 1959.

In the mid-1960s, Disneyland introduced hovercraft-based bumper cars called Flying Saucers, which worked on the same principle as an air hockey game; however, the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years.