Journalist praises 2010 Camaro's "slick" drag coefficient of 0.37

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

If he hadn't linked "slick" to "0.37", I'd have no problem with it. Slick is subjective; 0.37 isn't.

Or if he'd qualified it as a relative statement by beginning with, "Compared to a Hummer (or a barn), the body is pretty slick, coming in at 0.37 for its drag coefficient."

GM engineers are so much better than this. They could have optimised details to end up with a less embarrassing Cd - without affecting the overall styling - if they'd wanted to. Maybe the bean counters held them back.

Or a parachute.

[Frank Lee]

Once upon a time I designed bodywork. According to the marketing dept. and the press, EVERY new body was "more aerodynamic" than the last one- whether it was or not. None of the stuff we did was ever tested, but that didn't matter.

What we have to realize is, the press is full of ****. Another thing they did was rotate among manufacturers for the "______ of the Year" title, which was meaningless because the best piece of equipment wasn't going to win if it wasn't that manufacturer's "turn".

They are all about the hype and advertising sales.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

How do you figure? They wanted the square nose and notchback body. How would they reduce the drag of that?

"Detail optimization" vs "shape optimization". See Hucho.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

"Detail optimization" vs "shape optimization". See Hucho.

What is the most aerodynamic notchback coupe?

[captainslug]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

GM engineers are so much better than this.

Maybe, but since nobody in the company listens to them we can't be sure.

[Big Dave]

As I tell folks on another board, most journalists are about as smart and honest as government regulators - not very smart or honest at all.

[Silveredwings]

What is the most aerodynamic notchback coupe?

Opel_Calibra with Cd of 0.26 (with a CdA of 5.4)

and

Mercedes-Benz S-class with Cd of 0.26

(see Automobile drag coefficient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[Allch Chcar]

If it compensated with downforce it might be acceptable for a road car. But corvettes are slippery when the hit below .30. The new Camaro is about as aerodynamic as a Cadillac or an aerodynamic Pickup which isn't saying much.

[whokilledthejams]

My barn-shaped xB comes in with a cD of .35, stock.

The new Camaro has a lower cD than a 2nd-gen Camaro (correct me if I'm wrong, but it's somwhere around .45). That has to count for something.

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by whokilledthejams

My barn-shaped xB comes in with a cD of .35, stock.

It's down to .32 for the 2008s.