Aerodynamics for fuel economy

I am incredibly impressed by Mike Turner’s modification of his Honda Civic for increased fuel economy. He says, “Since it didn’t look like the car companies were planning to do anything in the foreseeable future about introducing a small car that would get good fuel economy on the highway, I decided to see what I could do towards improving my existing car’s gas mileage.” Way to take the initiative!

By modifying the tail and nose of the Civic’s body, covering the wheel wells, bringing the sideview mirrors inside the car, and several other adjustments, Turner has achieved a drag coefficient of 0.17. (For comparison, a bullet’s drag coefficient is about 0.3.) He gets 95 miles per gallon (US) when travelling at 65 mph. How much of a difference does it make? When he finds himself driving an unmodded car, he says “it feels as if I am driving on a road covered with molasses.”

There are a lot of other surprising benefits which Turner details on his site. One that made me briefly doubt if he was for real was “protection from damage when encountering deer.” He writes, “the low sloped front of the car scoops them up and over the top of the car with minimal damage to both deer and car.” Convenient! (If a little bit scary-sounding. Hey, it’s certainly better than killing the deer and wrecking your car.)

Turner says the materials for this modification cost him $400. Clearly if it had been done by someone else, there would have been a charge for the design as well as the labor – but if his plans had been the original vehicle design, the labor cost could hardly be much different from making a regular Civic. So my question is: why aren’t car companies building anything like this? I don’t see any good reason. Does it just look too space-age and weird? I think we could get used to the looks if it meant getting 95 miles to the gallon.

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February 5, 2009 · Written by
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