Why have the Automakers refused the boat tail design?

[ron22]

Here is another old car 1968 Mustang Fastback

So why dont automakers go back to making fastback (Boat tails)

[Cd]

Well actually they have gone back to the fastback on cars like the Mustang.
Notchbacks are no longer offered .

Also, the 1971 Riviera has a nice boattailed rear window, but the car isn't a true boattailed design since the fenders do not taper back. This is one reason I did not mention this car or cars such as the '63 Corvettes. The width remains the same at the rear of the car.

[ron22]

Originally Posted by Cd

Well actually they have gone back to the fastback on cars like the Mustang.
Notchbacks are no longer offered ..

Yes but look at the new fastbacks and look at the 68. The new ones the fast back ends about 2-3 feet before the end of the car (Incressing the angle). The 68 it goes all the way back (lowering the angle)

[Frank Lee]

pontiac g6


accord


acura zdx

[GRU]

The funny thing is there are lots of cars, like the Mazda MX3, on the road that have a "boat tail" type of back end but have a cd of about .32 which is typical for most cars, even boxy ones like the 90's Volvo's

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by GRU

The funny thing is there are lots of cars, like the Mazda MX3, on the road that have a "boat tail" type of back end but have a cd of about .32 which is typical for most cars, even boxy ones like the 90's Volvo's

Full benefits of boat-tailing aren't realized until the body sides also taper in,beginning at the same place the roof begins its descent.
The Impact/EV-1 and 1st-gen Insight are probably the only 'recent' production cars to actually address this.
If things work out,and given enough time,we'll eventually make it back to 1921 technology.

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by ron22

Here is another old car 1968 Mustang Fastback

So why dont automakers go back to making fastback (Boat tails)

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

pontiac g6


accord


acura zdx

If any of these have attached flow on the rear windows I'll be very surprised. "Fastback" does not mean "boat tail" and they have completely different purposes. The first is to look fast; the second is to go fast.

[NHB]

It seems that it's possible to get good results without long boat tail. Just look at cars like Audi A2 and Mercedes new A-/B-klasse. Many sedans and coupes like Mercedes E-klasse have low Cd values without boat tails. Since we wan't a good balance between space effieciency and aerodynamical drag, it might be better to have a good short kammback tail than a long boat tail.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by NHB

It seems that it's possible to get good results without long boat tail. Just look at cars like Audi A2 and Mercedes new A-/B-klasse. Many sedans and coupes like Mercedes E-klasse have low Cd values without boat tails.

They have good Cd values when compared to other cars, but it's simply not good enough to make much of a difference regarding fuel economy.

We're still hovering around the 0.3 mark, with the better vehicles around 0.25 - and have been for many years, the A2 is old.

Reduzierung des Luftwiderstandes - volle Wirkung erst mit regenerativem Bremsen (In German, by W-H Hucho)

To make a real difference, we need to get to 0.20 - and below.

[Big Dave]

"There is no reason that the rear axle could not have a much narrower track and be farther back in the tail."

Big Dave says:
Ever tried that in fresh snow?