Those of you following my kitchen-sink-megathread about the Civic "winter beater" have obviously seen this already. But I decided to break out the boat tail + Kammback info into a dedicated thread for wider edification and amusement.
CivicTail Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: OMG, WHY???
A: For fun and edutainment! I wanted to see what kind of fuel economy improvement I could get by streamlining the back of this sedan. (Fans & students of aerodynamics know that the biggest opportunity for drag-reduction is found at the rear of a typical road vehicle.)
Q: How much does it improve fuel economy?
A: Don't know yet. MPG testing will happen when the weather warms up a bit more. (A-B-A testing format of course.)
It has been tuft tested though, and the air seems to like it (when rear fender skirts are in place).
Q: HAHA - good luck parking that thing!
A: The car+tail is the same length as North America's best-selling vehicle (look it up). So, parking isn't any more of an issue than for the tens of millions of people driving those things around. It fits inside a normal garage.
Q: How do you see out the back?
A: There's a plexiglass window in the "Kammback" section of the tail.
Q: How is it held on?
A: The inner frame is attached to the car at 5 points: hitch mount, plus screwed through the two factory licence plate holes in the back of the trunk, plus two redundant ratchet straps across the top of the trunk lid. It's removable in about 5 minutes.
Q: How much does it weigh?
A: The tail alone weighs 16 kg / 35 lbs. I haven't weighed the "Kammback" section over the trunk lid/rear window, but it's probably another 7 or 8 lbs.
Q: HAHA - I bet all that weight cancels out any aero benefit!
A: Just you wait and see!
Q: What's it made from?
A: Wood inner frame; outer shape comes from hot-glued cardboard + coroplast over cardboard inner bulkheads; the outside is shrink-wrapped in plastic film & liberal amounts of duct tape. Tail lights are from a 1992 Suzuki Swift GT.
Q: HAHA - that's not going to last!
A: It's just a science experiment -- it'll last long enough. I'll likely be selling the Civic in 3 or 4 months.