Dodge to offer 41 MPG (hwy) "Aero" version of 2013 Dart - 0.285 drag coefficient
 

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1336052894
(Chrysler photo)

Dodge has been touting the "world class" aerodynamics of its upcoming Alfa Romeo Giulietta-based 2013 Dart compact for a few months at least. But until yesterday, none of the PR contained any numbers.

They're going to offer a 41 mpg (hwy) "Aero" version of the car to compete with Chevy's "Eco" Cruze version, and Ford's Fiesta "SFE".

Dart Aero specs:

Source: 2013 Dodge Dart Aero: High-Mileage Version Of New Compact Coming Soon

Additional Chrysler info about the focus of aero development:

Source: Chrysler press release - http://www.chryslercanada.ca/product...verview_EN.rtf

The first hard numbers I've seen for the drag coefficient:

source: 2013 Dodge Dart on target to succeed - The Globe and Mail

Though it's not actually clear from that article if 0.285 is for the "base" dart or the Aero version.

Update: John Voelcker at Green Car Reports clarified this morning in the comments of his article that 0.285 is for the standard car, not the "Aero" version.

It'll be interesting to see how much they're able to pare off that number with the extra aeromods.

Well, geez, how can we ecomod that? Besides flat wheel covers.

There's plenty of fat to carve off that cd. Also, there would still be many mechanical mods that would help as well. Nice platform to start from though.

Oops. iPhone glitch double post.

And it only took marketing 3 hours to ruin everything. ;)

Wasn't that long ago when every 4 minutes Chrysler (and the rest) came on the tube telling us we needed 400 hp in a pickup or SUV. And Daimler/Chrysler (idiots) decided the smart move was to make the entire lineup look like an SUV. This is a good start! :thumbup:

0.285
 

If they keep at it,they'll catch up to 1935!

I am a mopar guy and have two (06 and 07) chargers in my driveway. Looking at getting the Dart maybe. I have been watching this one for awhile and I am waiting more on the final numbers.

need to put this up on the aero templet

Will a hatchback be offered ? That rear glass slope angle is just killing the drag back there.

So, I'm still unclear whether the photo is of the Aero model, or the standard model, or does it include optional wheels?

A Cd 0f 0.285 is slightly better than the Leaf, but not quite as good as the Volt, and not nearly as good as the Prius. It is still miles away from the EV1 or the A2 or the original Insight.

Neil: and .285 is the standard car. The Aero will be better, apparently. (Keep in mind the caveat about comparing Cd's measured in different facilities.)

The photos out there now are the non-Aero version, I'm sure. According to John at GCR, they're still tweaking the Aero version.

Cd: agreed - a hatch would give them a big opportunity to lower drag even more.

Kammback. Kammback. Kammback. I hope they make one with a Prius shape. Also patiently awaiting the day companies offer a factory boat tail option.

roof
 

They could graft a windscreen and roof from a Reggie Fountain racing monohull.They'd get the drag reduction and without spontaneousautopenileatrophobia.

Cd 0.17?
 

Just to be mean,didn't Ghia do a Dodge Dart circa 1956 with Cd 0.17?:rolleyes:

Marlin?
 

If FIAT owns the rights to the 'Rambler/AMC'(American Motors Corp.)monikers,after using a pick-axe,rock hammer,router,chisel,and belt-sander they could re-introduce the the 1965 Rambler/AMC Marlin as their family drag slayer.It was America's first Kammback.
Consumers 'expected' fuel economy from Rambler/AMC.
FIAT could create 'in-house' competition for more market share,catering to buyers who expect 'unorthodox' styling.
'Worn bars of soap','amorphous-blobs','blob cars','jelly bean cars',................................. it's all good to a Rambler owner!:D

How about make Dodge the economy brand, SRT the sport brand and bring back DeSoto as a mid-price brand?

Theres a reason they killed plymouth

...because Plymouth couldn't compete with the 'cheap' Chebbys or Fords?

That and why make 3 identical vehicles and put a different badge on each?

I was a little disappointed to see a cD of only 0.285 to tell you the truth....after the 2009 Corolla has a Cd of 0.29...you'd think they could do a bit better...

2013 Dodge Dart Specifications and Dimensions

. *37.4 / 35.4 with sunroof. Drag coefficient is for models with active grille shutters and underbody treatment (standard on all but SE, where they are optional) **Trunk volume listed as 16.6 cubic feet; it was irregularly sized and this does not appear to have been an SAE measurement (we suspect it’s “optimistic.”)

an '09 corolla is only .29? too bad they couldn't beat a car from 14 years ago, the '98 concorde had a Cd of .288, was bigger, and had more power.

ksa8907 -

I would make the weak(?) argument that the 1998 Concorde was from the end of the "streamline(?) fashion" era. If you look at the cars from the late 1980's and early 1990's, the design tends toward clean lines. When I look at this example :

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Concorde..jpg

I see the "below headlight" grille and clean/contiguous horizontal lines along the side of the body. About the only thing it needs are wheel covers and a belly pan.

CarloSW2

And a TDI engine with a 5 speed. :)

...and, a HEFTY weight diet!

From what ive read, the dart will only be a couple hundred pounds lighter.

Yeah the dart weighs like 40 tons.

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...roTemplate.jpg

Aw, shoot, I just couldn't resist that. :p
OK, here we go;

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...TemplateLH.jpg

Thanks to seifrob and the awesome online tool he created.
It really oughta be stickied.

Let us not forget that the easiest way to improve a car's Cd is to make it bigger. It's Cd x Frontal Area that matters. I suspect MAX's Cd will go down when I put an enclosed cabin on it, but its total drag, sad to say, will most likely rise because the frontal area will increase by about 25%.

Really -- I would have thought that smaller has lower Cd and lower area, too? A larger car has a larger wake which mean higher drag, all else being equal.

Since the Cd is already under 0.3, that means the area would have to be reduced 3X more than if you reduce the Cd.

Let's say a typical car has 30 square feet of frontal area and it has a Cd of 0.33, so CdA is 9.9sq ft.

If you reduce the Cd down to 0.30 that reduces the CdA to 9.0sq ft. To match that by reducing the frontal area, you have to take away 2.5sq ft for a total of 27.5sq ft.

If you reduce the Cd down to 0.27 that makes the CdA 8.1sq ft, and to match that you'd have to reduce the frontal area down to 24.5sq ft -- that means truncating about 1 foot off the height, which greatly reduces the interior volume of the car.

So you get a much smaller car. Reducing the Cd can be done without compromising the interior volume.

it is an alpha romeo
 

17" wheels? Seriously? They are giving up 3+mpg right there. In fact, they are giving up 6+mpg vs. something like a 15" Energy Saver A/S tire? I've done the testing and it sucks. lol.

How about I make this a little worse. My 86 Trans Am had a cd of .29 also. The second gen Intrepids have a cd of .30. Why do cars seem to be getting worse aerodynamically. The most recent F Bodies are less aerodynamic and the new Charger is not as aero as the Intrepid either.

I am sure there are other examples but there shouldn't be any examples should there?

Or a 12 year old Honda Insight:D

It has taken them how long to discover grill blocks;)

discover
 

yeah,and it's hard to know how far back it goes.
Many years ago an uncle treated my oldest brother and I to a visit to the air museum at Chino Airport,California (flying cars).
They have a WW-II Soviet YAK fighter,with an active rotating-radial vanes within radial vanes style grille-blocked radial engine.Really elegant engineering.
I was serving at Eddy's Airplane Patch at the time,and immediately flashed to the air-operated shutters on our Brockway bob-tail tractor-trailer radiator.
As Alex Tremulis would say,"what's old is new again!":o

...or, my reverse-analogy: "...memories are short..."