Bushings are so often made from steel that we sometimes assume they are never made of anything else.

Bushings can also be bi-metal - a combination of two different metals - or can be made of metal and polymer / plastic, in which case they are sometimes called ‘metalastic’.

Actually, cars mostly require rubber or polymer (usually polyurethane) because these can better absorb shock and vibration between moving metal parts. It’s also possible to find bushings made out of bronze, copper, phosphor bronze (also sometimes called oil filled bronze or sintered bronze bushings), aluminium, graphite, and even wood!

However, since steel is one of the strongest and most durable metals known to man; and because bushings, like all forms of bearing, need to be extremely tough and hard-wearing, then steel bushings are the most common of this form.