This picture is
very EcoModder.
(Should we start a thread: "Buy a Beetle (instead of a plow truck)"?)
The car in question (I'm sure freebeard can say what year it is... photo is from the very early 60's) was owned by the same guy (Harry Stevinson) who built this Model T-based streamliner in 1933 as a teenager:
(From:
Aeromodding in the 1930's: 38 mpg, 70 mph Model T )
Harry (left) was my friend's father.
Perfectly foreshadowed by the Model T project, Harry had become an aeronautical engineer by the time he owned that Bug. He was also keenly aware of the poor aero of the VW. From the Model T thread:
Quote:
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Harry was also an early adopter of the original VW Beetle. Even then, he was aware of its missed potential: despite its relatively good fuel efficiency (for its time), his son Tom tells me he remembers Harry explaining that its poor aerodynamics held it back from even better MPG.
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Note the aero optimizations on the plow Bug: You can see the chains attached to the bumper brackets for lifting up the blade while in transit, and that the blade was designed to lay FLAT for best aero on the road (*and leg chopping potential!). And of course the car had smooth wheel discs.
His son, my friend Tom is the kid in the photo beside the plow. Sadly, the reason I discovered the plow picture is because Tom died unexpectedly a few months ago, and that photo was one of many from his life that his widow shared with family & friends.
Tom also became a professional engineer and like his dad, he also did some aeronautical work. We became friends through our shared hobby of sailboat racing. We also had many fun conversations about the various aero mods that were duct taped to my cars over the past 15 or 20 years.
RIP, Tom.