Duct tape, cardboard, ingenuity... mix em together and voila!!!

[RD]

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=1520689&_blg=1,1502027

The Long Tail of Fuel Efficiency
A DIY boat tail adds some serious miles per gallon
Posted by Joshua Condon on Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:55 PM

What if someone told you you could improve your fuel economy by 15 percent with nothing but cardboard, aluminum and duct tape? Sounds pretty sweet and simple, right? But then what if they told you you'd have to do it by making your car look like that odd duck, to the left?

Darin Cosgrove, who added the boat tail to his Geo Metro (though, since he's in Canada, it's called a Pontiac Firefly), certainly doesn't mind the trade-off; then again, that's sort of his thing. Cosgrove is the founder of the hypermiling (i.e. fuel-economy boosting) site Ecomodder.com. (If you look closely at the image, you'll notice the boat tail is not the only add-on; for one example, you'll notice he's added rear wheel skirts.)

By reducing the drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.23, the boat tail (and other mods) boosted Cosgrove's fuel efficiency by 15.1 percent at 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph). That's some pretty serious savings, especially for a DIY project, and it really speaks to the role that smart engineering can play in fuel savings -- it's not all about batteries or hybrid powertrains. We're just not sure, though, how well the look would move cars off dealer lots.

[Silver R/T]

Interesting.....but nothing beats one of these

[66chargerkid]

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=1520689&_blg=1,1502027

The Long Tail of Fuel Efficiency
A DIY boat tail adds some serious miles per gallon
Posted by Joshua Condon on Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:55 PM

What if someone told you you could improve your fuel economy by 15 percent with nothing but cardboard, aluminum and duct tape? Sounds pretty sweet and simple, right? But then what if they told you you'd have to do it by making your car look like that odd duck, to the left?

Darin Cosgrove, who added the boat tail to his Geo Metro (though, since he's in Canada, it's called a Pontiac Firefly), certainly doesn't mind the trade-off; then again, that's sort of his thing. Cosgrove is the founder of the hypermiling (i.e. fuel-economy boosting) site Ecomodder.com. (If you look closely at the image, you'll notice the boat tail is not the only add-on; for one example, you'll notice he's added rear wheel skirts.)

By reducing the drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.23, the boat tail (and other mods) boosted Cosgrove's fuel efficiency by 15.1 percent at 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph). That's some pretty serious savings, especially for a DIY project, and it really speaks to the role that smart engineering can play in fuel savings -- it's not all about batteries or hybrid powertrains. We're just not sure, though, how well the look would move cars off dealer lots.

Is that your next project LMAO?
Please let it be something other then a mopar   

[Arthu®]

I see parking problems in his future...

[NorwayCharger]

 

Hmmm, that is a butt ugly car 

[RD]

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=1520689&_blg=1,1502027

The Long Tail of Fuel Efficiency
A DIY boat tail adds some serious miles per gallon
Posted by Joshua Condon on Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:55 PM

What if someone told you you could improve your fuel economy by 15 percent with nothing but cardboard, aluminum and duct tape? Sounds pretty sweet and simple, right? But then what if they told you you'd have to do it by making your car look like that odd duck, to the left?

Darin Cosgrove, who added the boat tail to his Geo Metro (though, since he's in Canada, it's called a Pontiac Firefly), certainly doesn't mind the trade-off; then again, that's sort of his thing. Cosgrove is the founder of the hypermiling (i.e. fuel-economy boosting) site Ecomodder.com. (If you look closely at the image, you'll notice the boat tail is not the only add-on; for one example, you'll notice he's added rear wheel skirts.)

By reducing the drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.23, the boat tail (and other mods) boosted Cosgrove's fuel efficiency by 15.1 percent at 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph). That's some pretty serious savings, especially for a DIY project, and it really speaks to the role that smart engineering can play in fuel savings -- it's not all about batteries or hybrid powertrains. We're just not sure, though, how well the look would move cars off dealer lots.

Is that your next project LMAO?
Please let it be something other then a mopar   

well there is this blue mid 80's daytona that i think needs to be a little more aero'd.. hmmmmm

[bull]

I would have filled the tail with a foam-wrapped pogo stick to protect the car from rear-end collisions.

[bakerhillpins]

Heh, The Mythbusters did this kind of thing as well but they dimpled a car like a golf ball and got an extra 11%.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/22/mythbusters-golf-ball-like-dimpling-mpg/

[Mike DC]

Aerodynamics of the rear half of the car are really underestimated IMHO.



Look how NASA transports the space shuttle orbiters strapped onto the back of a 747 - they're not putting those huge tailcones on the shuttles for nothing. 

[66chargerkid]

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=1520689&_blg=1,1502027

The Long Tail of Fuel Efficiency
A DIY boat tail adds some serious miles per gallon
Posted by Joshua Condon on Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:55 PM

What if someone told you you could improve your fuel economy by 15 percent with nothing but cardboard, aluminum and duct tape? Sounds pretty sweet and simple, right? But then what if they told you you'd have to do it by making your car look like that odd duck, to the left?

Darin Cosgrove, who added the boat tail to his Geo Metro (though, since he's in Canada, it's called a Pontiac Firefly), certainly doesn't mind the trade-off; then again, that's sort of his thing. Cosgrove is the founder of the hypermiling (i.e. fuel-economy boosting) site Ecomodder.com. (If you look closely at the image, you'll notice the boat tail is not the only add-on; for one example, you'll notice he's added rear wheel skirts.)

By reducing the drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.23, the boat tail (and other mods) boosted Cosgrove's fuel efficiency by 15.1 percent at 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph). That's some pretty serious savings, especially for a DIY project, and it really speaks to the role that smart engineering can play in fuel savings -- it's not all about batteries or hybrid powertrains. We're just not sure, though, how well the look would move cars off dealer lots.

Is that your next project LMAO?
Please let it be something other then a mopar   

well there is this blue mid 80's daytona that i think needs to be a little more aero'd.. hmmmmm

Lol yes I am gonna lower it an inch for some aero.

[mikesbbody]

does he drive the thing backwards? 

[Aero426]

Chrysler experimented with this concept with the Airflow prototypes in the 1930's.   

[Mike DC]

Laugh now.


But I expect to see stuff like those tailcones federally mandated on every car & truck in America long before the population will go for raising the price of gas by 25 cents.