Aerodynamics is not worth this...
Click the image above to see more photos of Franken-Civic
Car mods and great fuel economy are frequent topics here at Autoblog, but pair the two and sometimes they go together about as well as milk and whiskey. One gentlemen has modded his 1992 Honda Civic to achieve an alleged 85 mpg at 70 mph, but he had to beat the vehicle with a 500-lb ugly stick to get the job done. The would-be engineer used coroplast and aluminum (not papier-mâchié, as it would appear) to add a "front spoiler", underbody cover, wheel covers, and a missile-like "boat tail." We're not sure why the muffler is wearing a codpiece, but this guy seems to know what he's doing, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. The end results of the modifications are Prius-destroying fuel economy, very little drag, and zero chance of ever getting a date while driving it.
We do have to give props where props are due, however. If the fuel savings are legit, this rolling tribute to ugly is very impressive. The liftable wheel covers and inverted side mirrors are clever touches, as is the stow-n-flow storage compartment beneath the boat tail floor. In all, it's an interesting science experiment, but this Franken-Civic is more likely to elicit shrieks of horror than looks of awe.
[Source: Ecomodder.com via AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
tankd0g 5:44PM (1/06/2008)
Wasn't this already posted?
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Alex Nunez 5:53PM (1/06/2008)
Yes. But not here. ABG had it.
Jake 5:44PM (1/06/2008)
I think it's pretty amusing... He really could have gained even more mileage by smoothing out those joints, he's got parasite drag all over the place.
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Taylor 5:56PM (1/06/2008)
If he gets that kinda mileage, more power too him. It's not my car, thus, I envy the MPG.
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Ed 6:13PM (1/06/2008)
That's really cool. I want to be able to buy a car that has this kind of stuff, only not made out of plywood and sellotape. I can do without the boat tail because of parking though.
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tankd0g 6:11PM (1/06/2008)
If he made a body kit like this for Prius owners to get 90mpg I bet they'd buy it, if for no other reason than to say they get better milage than the most effiecient civic.
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3000GT TwinTurbo 6:14PM (1/06/2008)
From looking at the pics it appears not to have a passenger seat, Which makes me assume he gutted the interior. Making it not only hideously ugly, but also terribly impractical. Congratulations.
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Smeagle 6:31PM (1/06/2008)
This is why aerodynamic efficiency rarely finds its way into production vehicles.
As an aerodynamicist I think this car probably would perform quite well, parasitic drag aside, but who would actually pay money for something that looks like this? Looks better than an aztek though...
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B 6:37PM (1/06/2008)
i didnt know aerodynamicist was a word...anyways
I wonder if he actually had this tested in a wind tunnel. As good as it looks, i think he could still improve it beyond what it is.
Pretty good work.
caddy dave 6:46PM (1/06/2008)
actually I thought it was the 09 Avalon. Big improvement over the 08.
Smeagle 6:57PM (1/06/2008)
Nobody knows that Aerodynamicist is a word... I swear its a real profession with computers and science and stuff.
Ryan 7:11PM (1/06/2008)
aer·o·dy·nam·i·cist - [air-oh-dahy-nam-uh-sist]
–noun
an expert in aerodynamics.
i guess its real...haha
Jake 7:12PM (1/06/2008)
And lots of pretty colors on CFD diagrams...
I'm an Aero major at Texas A&M, I feel you.
Ginger 1:58PM (1/10/2008)
Who would buy it? The design harkens back to the old Citroen and more than a few people bought those. Anyone know what kind of mileage they got?
Poe 7:17PM (1/06/2008)
I can't believe that in these days of $100-per-barrel oil prices, anyone would get so hung up on the LOOKS of a vehicle that gets that kind of fuel mileage! If it gets 85 MPG , who cares WHAT it looks like! Surely the major automakers could build something like this that looks MUCH better and still reap the same aerodynamic benefits to achieve that kind of fuel economy. Why don't they? 80% of my driving is done on the interstate - and I'd be VERY interested in buying something like this - looks be damned.
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3000GT TwinTurbo 9:13PM (1/06/2008)
Performance FTW. Looks second... Fuel econ doesnt even come into question when choosing a vehicle. Even if it gets 10MPG, its still cheaper than a cab and much better than public transport.
I really dont understand how people complain so much about gas prices. $3 a gallon really isnt that much. The only thing i can think of that's less that that is water.
The problem is that people are completely brainwashed to that that MPG is the end-all goal of transportation.
If you want a car that gets 70MPG, and only seats one (like that appears to), get a moped.
Kevin White 11:14PM (1/06/2008)
Wonder what it would get on my commute. 1% of my driving is done on the highway. The rest is curvy backroads and suburban avenues with overlong lights every 300 yards.
Injected 7:22PM (1/06/2008)
I think vortex generators could have gone a long way in curbing that fat rear end. I do wonder what the coeff of drag on this thing is in comparison to the Prius. Supposedly the GTR has a pretty good cd.
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naggs 1:08AM (1/07/2008)
the drag for this entire car is roughly equivalent to the drag created by a real car's rear view mirrors
vortex generators are a way to compensate for a poor aerodynamic shape, small aero aids will never make something shaped like a car be any where near as aerodynamic as something shaped like a supossitory. if you want a radical improvement in mpg you have to have a radical change in shape
Injected 8:40AM (1/07/2008)
I will agree that radical results require radical design, but that wasn't my point. My point is that vortex generators could allow for a more sloping drop in the rear, shortening it and making it more parkable and acceptable to most people.