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Old 04-16-2010, 04:19 PM   #7 (permalink)
eco86
Almost fuel free!
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Georgia
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Seeing as modern vehicle mirrors have been shown to account for between 3 and 6% of the total drag on a car, I would think that deleting mirrors to hit CAFE standards would make sense. Not necessarily both mirrors, but even deleting one mirror would improve the aerodynamics of a vehicle (like the Civic VX and Metro XFi).
Plus, 3-6% is a pretty large gain. Adding variable valve timing is quoted as improving EPA fuel efficiency by 5%, and turbocharging is quoted as improving FE by 7.5% *. Redesigning an engine to add a turbo, or VVT, or direct injection is much more expensive than deleting mirrors and adding cameras in their place. Just my $0.02.

*FE statistics found at Fuel Economy
Engine Technologies
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