top | item 18927111 (no title) strommen | 7 years ago I don't see this as much of a problem. Drag coefficient on a Dodge Ram is 0.357; on a Prius it's 0.29.That's less than a 25% penalty on efficiency. discuss order hn newest avalys|7 years ago Drag coefficient is a misleading and meaningless statistic to compare, which is probably exactly why manufacturers use it.The total drag of a vehicle is given by its total frontal area, multiplied by the drag coefficient. And fuel economy is determined by total drag.The Ram has a much larger frontal area than the Prius, so it would have substantially worse efficiency even if the coefficients of drag were equal.
avalys|7 years ago Drag coefficient is a misleading and meaningless statistic to compare, which is probably exactly why manufacturers use it.The total drag of a vehicle is given by its total frontal area, multiplied by the drag coefficient. And fuel economy is determined by total drag.The Ram has a much larger frontal area than the Prius, so it would have substantially worse efficiency even if the coefficients of drag were equal.
avalys|7 years ago
The total drag of a vehicle is given by its total frontal area, multiplied by the drag coefficient. And fuel economy is determined by total drag.
The Ram has a much larger frontal area than the Prius, so it would have substantially worse efficiency even if the coefficients of drag were equal.