Which mass produced car is closest to a teardrop shape ?

[Cd]

One of these days, when I actually own a house with a garage, I plan to create a car that is as streamlined as I can possibly make it.

If I ever get around to something like that, I would convert the car to an electric vehicle with a small biodiesel engine as supplemental power.

All this is just a daydream and would quickly be flushed down the toilet if there was an affordable electric car offered within my budget ( poor boy budget )

So this is just a daydream, but looking at the shapes of old cars, the 1992-1995 Mazda MX-3 looks very close to an ideal tear drop shape.
The car also has a small frontal area and low weight, unlike cars such as the Trans-Am or Camaro .

This is how I would butcher an MX-3 if given the chance :

[Cd]

Looks like a big red almond doesn't it ?

[KJSatz]

More like a big red badass .

[basslover911]

OHhhh I have wanted to tinnker with an MX3 for SOOOO long!!

They are SUPER light weight, have a ton of aftermarket stuff, and are TINY (Less frontal area).

I was actually ABOUT to buy oone about 8 months ago for $700 ... but didnt

[Tango Charlie]

A neighbor in my 'hood drives one. Catches my eye every time it goes by. It does beg for the mods you so skillfully photoshopped.

[Cd]

I'd be worried that an angry mob of MX-3 fans would track me down and beat the crap out of me if I ever did such a thing to a car like that.

A truly beautiful design. I would have been driving one already, except that even with a four cylinder engine, the MX-3 got horrible mileage compared to a Civic. ( less than 35 MPG on the highway )

Oh - and thanks on the "skillful photoshop" comment !
As you can see it's really quite far from being "skillful " though .

[some_other_dave]

How about the CRX HF?

-soD

[MazdaMatt]

I like the mx-3, but i've been confused by its high Cd and its low mpg.

[MetroMPG]

Do you know the car's Cd figure off hand?

Nice photoshop work indeed...

[Cd]

Supposedly, the MX-3 had a Cd of .32 and .31 in GS trim.

For comparison, the '92-95 Civic hatch had a stock Cd of .31 ( While oddly enough, the Civic coupe had a higher Cd of .32 )

I have seen the MX-3 Cd figures elsewhere and think these quoted on this site are legit, but I have my doubts about the mileage figures listed.

( I notice that the site is Canadian and was wondering if the Canadian version of the MX-3 did indeed get better mileage. )

Is it a Canadian thing Metro ??

Source : MX-3.com - Mazda MX-3 Precidia Specifications

( Look at the bottom section of the page )