Ford Motor Corp.’s manager of North American aerodynamics,
Steve Wegryn said “Aerodynamics is extremely important and becoming more important by the day with the price
of fuel.”
I’m not sure how Mr. Wegryn plans on making North America more aerodynamic, but it’s a little easier when it
comes to vehicles. A nip here or a tuck there can shave tenths of a mile per gallon. Aerodynamic
drag is the second highest source of wasted energy at 23 percent, topped only by engine friction at 27 percent. An
interesting little statistic pointed out later in the article says that the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe reduces drag by 8
percent over previous models, which improves fuel economy by 3%.
But one concern remains, how do you get a slippery car without making it look like it was squeezed out of a funnel?
Automakers say you can’t and sometimes the designers get their way and add a bit of form over function to the
mix.