I talked to Phil on Saturday - I was hoping to meet up with him in Texas this weekend, but unfortunately my trip was cancelled, so it'll have to be another time.
I didn't realize until I read the
edmunds.com piece featuring several ecomodders from this forum that he's been doing this stuff for so long!
Anyway, we talked about a bunch of stuff, including many of his vehicles, and I thought it would be interesting to present his "aero fleet" in a single thread. So, with Phil's blessing, here it is:
The first one he aeromodded was his...
'64 VW Karmann Ghia
![](http://ecomodder.com/imgs/knox/knox-karmann-ghia-s.jpg)
- bought to replace a thirsty El Camino with a v8 that could get 18 mpg at best
- the Ghia was purchased wrecked - the previous owner had smacked into the back of a big Caddy, braking on a wet road.
- Phil put the front clip from another Ghia on it, and then started modding it after reading about Car & Driver magazine's Crisis Fighter Pinto
- Reshaped the front to mimic a Porsche Carerra
- was good for 41 mpg @ 70 mph
'62 Dodge D-100 pickup
![](http://ecomodder.com/imgs/knox/knox-1962-dodge-s.jpg)
- this was his grandad's truck (still has it!)
- the shape of things to come?
'70 VW bus
![](http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3666&d=1244319471)
- link to thread with more details of this project: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-van-8675.html
- Modding this VW was Phil's thesis project, and he used many of the same techniques NASA did for its van testing:
- full belly pan
- skirts on rear wheels
- 18 inch tapered rear extension
1984 Honda CRX
![](http://ecomodder.com/imgs/knox/knox-crx-rear-s.jpg)
- ultimately, the mod set included: nose, hatchwing, gap-fillers,wheel skirts,wheelcovers,bellypan,and boattail
- 18% improvement in mpg, 36% drag reduction, 9mph improvement in top speed
- Estimated Cd: 0.23
- tested at Bonneville, and systematically at Chrysler Proving Grounds, in Michigan in 1991.
- Still has it! (On guard duty - long story)
'94 Toyota T-100
![](http://ecomodder.com/imgs/knox/knox-sailboat-hull-s.jpg)
- what *hasn't* Phil tried on this famous truck?
![Smile](/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
- @ 75 miles per hour, with aero mods fuel economy improved to 32 miles per gallon from stock 23.3 mpg.
Custom mini hypercar
![](http://ecomodder.com/imgs/knox/knox-hypercar-rear-s.jpg)
- under construction
- motorcycle based
- VW front end?