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Old 10-27-2009, 05:26 PM   #1 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,541

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 51.82 mpg (US)
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Nissan Murano tail light aerodynamic detail

Just got back from biking with a friend and noticed an aero detail (I believe) of the tail light of his Nissan Murano (like this):




Note the 90 degree step in the edge of the plastic, which I assume is there to promote clean separation (in the same way Daimler uses vents on its rear tail lights for the same purpose and GM added a pronounced "step" at the trailing edge of the Volt's bodywork:







Of course Nissan only applied a small aero band aid on the Murano. For styling reasons (I guess), the large presumably aero-unfriendly radius in the greenhouse transition from the side to the rear in the hatch area is left un-creased.

The Firefly/Metro has quite a lot of curvature at its side-to-rear transition from the hatch, through the tail lights down to the bumper cover. Zero attempt to fix a clean separation point. Hopefully addressing this soon with the boat tail...

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