Lowriders

Hi,

I like lowrider cars like chevrolet Impala very much. Could you pls advice if there is any chance for any lowrider to come or to be manufactured in India? I like Contessa also. But it is not manufactured now. Could you pls advice on the reason.

Thanks.

Roy

obvious! with those kind of ground clearances, you couldnt go 10 metres on an indian road, unless you have the hydraulics up all the time, and thats ain't right  ;) 

lowriders are more at home on american roads , where it is paved everywhere !

Indian roads would wreck low riders. Lowriders have amazing stability at high speeds but unfortunately it can run on Indian roads. Here in some places we do not have speed breakers, we have vehicle breakers instead!

Many times the proper specifications for speed breaker and inclines/declines are not correctly followed which causes the front end/rear end/ mid part to hit the road causing good amount of damage. So better stay out of it for now

If you love the sound of metal scraping on the road, by all means enjoy a low-rider on Indian roads... You won't go any fast while at it, though!

Actually, if you see the 1960-1975 Chevrolet Impala, it's ground clearance is good. It is greater than Maruti Swift. I meant those cars with Bonnet and Dicky parallel to ground. Contessa is somewhat like those(only bonnet is parallel). Technically, it is not low rider. America is still manufacturing that kind of car. So, is there any chance for those cars in India?

Thanks.

Roy

even I miss those ones. Which one are you referring to in US? I think the Viper, Mustang, Camaro and the BMWs are somewhat close to the 'low rider' tag! Maybe a few more, unable to recollect it

Guys, those classical lines are just a killer when it comes to Aerodynamics, and the cars that had such outlines had a very bad CdA values. With those, car manufacturers were facing a wall as far as FE is concerned. If you had noticed, old honda city had such an outline, and they chose to change it to more of a bubble shape in new honda city. It did not matter to them that the vehicle looked butt ugly because of the change. I and many other still rue the demise of the old honda and its shape that made hearts flutter, but it is not fluttering hearts that matter at the filling station, but fluttering currency notes, and I would want those instances to be minimized, my car shape fantasies notwithstanding!!

I often think that conventional vehicles would do much better if they were designed as two front halfs of the vehicle model joined back-to-back. The need to have a defined length and having to provide a usefully large boot kills the back side aero badly. replicating the care taken for the front aero at the back (the requirements are not really different at the front and the back) it would really be superb. Anybody interested can do some quick photoshop trick to see how it will be beneficial.

The ultimate in aerodynamics these days are Honda Insight (actually older model was better than the new one just introduced) and Toyota Prius. The windshield blends smoothly with the bonnet, and the rear windshield blends in with the boot. Many vehicles also have rear wheel skirts and strive to achieve a boat-tail for a very very low CdA. 

If you want to go REALLY over the top, look at the Aptera design and styling. Its mind blowing! the vehicle just resembles a fish cutting through water! Totally awesome!!

Krishna,

It is good that you brought this concept into picture.

But for Light Motor Vehicle, aerodynamics does not matter much.

It matter for flight, highspeed trains, F1 racing cars etc.

Otherwise, the shape of SUMO, Scorpio, Bolero, Ashok Leyland Bus and Truck etc. should be changed.

Thanks.

Roy

Roy, it should indeed change.

Traditionally there is less awareness about the aerodynamics of heavy vehicles, and there more emphasis is on overall dimensions and utility of space rather than aero.A box shape is the worst you can have in terms of aero.

But it is also a fact that heavy vehicles use up quite a lot of fuel, and quite some percentage of it goes towards fighting air rather than hauling freight.

Increasingly vehicle owners and corporations are taking steps to see that aero principles are respected and their expenses on fuel are helped. They are trying out different things:

1. Open bed pickup trucks are trying a cover that tapers to the end
2. Articulated trucks (Semis as they are called in the haulage industry) are using a bellows-like flexible cover to bridge the gap between the cab and the trailer
3. The ubiquitious over-the-cab spoiler like panel that improves aero between the top of the cab and the top of the trailer/bed
4. (Even Indian) Trucks are using a skirt to divert air away from the underside - Indians use a cut-up and flattened tube rubber skirt, the phoren ones use fancy materials like corrugated plastic

Other aspects of aero are yet to get into the mainstream user's fancies, but the possibility of tangible money savings lures the hardest of skeptic to these practices, particularly in these hard days.

PS: with the 3.0+ L engines and reckless drivers at the wheels, the SUV category already travels at 100+ kmph, and they should be the first ones to think of aero, because alternative is to slow down to 40 kmph. Practically no one, not even the 10 tonners travel at 40 kmph. The norm is  80 kmph, where aero undoubtedly matters, we have data that proves it.