Dimpled vinyl wrap more efficient than paint?

Know why golf balls sport their dimpled finish? That uneven surface cuts wind resistance, allowing the little objects to fly further through the air. Similar technology has more recently been applied to athletic garments like the oufits worn by Olympic swimmers and cyclists. Could the same principles also apply to automobiles? At least according to a new venture called FastSkinz, the answer is yes. This company's recent development by SkinzWraps, a firm that specializes in vinyl wraps for automotive advertising, and it's claiming an 18-20 percent improvement in fuel economy from its new plastic wrap. As much as we'd love that to be true, it sounds a bit overly optimistic to us. Any eco improvements would definitely depend on many factors, especially the speed at which the vehicle is being driven, but we'd like nothing more than to find that such a simple trick could boost efficiency by such large percentages.

[Source: FastSkinz via MaxGladwell]