Quote:
Originally Posted by Vman455
Reality is, as reality is so often wont to be, much more complex than you suggest. As Hucho himself has written, "Low air drag is one target. Many others like styling, safety, cost, etc. have to be observed" (emphasis original).
Boeing does not use a direct-to-consumer business model, nor does the US Navy; they certainly work under similar cost and safety constraints, and when those parameters fail to hold similar influence in the product's design it can result in spectacular debacles, as the 737 MAX has demonstrated.
I'm not sure where you get the idea that cars are still redesigned every year; this has not been the case since the 1960s.
I assume you read the Mercedes S-class press release on aerodynamics that JulianEdgar posted (since you commented on the thread), but it sounds like you missed this part:
(emphasis added)
That doesn't sound to me like an "impasse" between style and technology; rather, cooperation.
I very much disagree.
|
' [T]he drag of the basic body ( Cd 0.09 ) is achievable. To what extent this can be approached in the development of a production vehicle is therefore more a question of the balance of the requirements of the specification than of technical feasibility.' Hucho, 2nd-Edition, page 209, circa 1986
The 'law of the Paris dressmaker' is what stands between us and low drag.