Why did 90s RWD cars have so much front overhang?

[hanoverphist]

In the 60s and 70s overhangs were pretty small though.

not really...

im a fan of smaller front overhang tho. ive always loved the look of the e36 front end

 

[ElFenix]

just to make the snout look lower. there's not much car up there on the camaro, just some plastic. as another poster said, the engine is underneath the dash.

 

[notty22]

One of my favorite models was the 69-71 Grand Prix, I bought and drove every year from 69-74, unintentionally, I think
I believe they were noted for having the 'longest' hood at some point.

 

[Throckmorton]

That Grand Prix looks good, because there's just as much hood length behind the wheels as in front

 

[Throckmorton]

I'm bumping my 1.5 year old thread because I just test drove a 1994 Camaro Z28. The worst thing about the car is the cab forward design. You can't see the hood at all because it drops off so steeply.

I also drove a C4 a few weeks ago it was better because even though the hood slopes quite a bit, it extends horizontally for a decent distance in front of the windshield and you can see the two fenders.

 

[phucheneh]

As far as visibility, the 4th gen Camaro is probably one of the worst cars ever designed. Seat on the floor, the aforementioned steeply sloped hood, and a big hulking dash that that further serves to block you from seeing out the tiny windshield (actually huge windshield, but the slope made it look tiny). Even with all those compromises to achieve that 'aero' look, I bet it had a shitpile of drag compared to newer cars (just guessing).

Those 90s Mustangs were built on a platform from the 1970s. Not sure about the Camaro.

Moving those wheels and suspension points farther out from the firewall on the cars you photochopped would probably compromise structural rigidity. We have gotten better at packaging is all.

HEY....a platform from 1979! Get it right...that's almost 1980. ;P

 

[Throckmorton]

As far as visibility, the 4th gen Camaro is probably one of the worst cars ever designed. Seat on the floor, the aforementioned steeply sloped hood, and a big hulking dash that that further serves to block you from seeing out the tiny windshield (actually huge windshield, but the slope made it look tiny). Even with all those compromises to achieve that 'aero' look, I bet it had a shitpile of drag compared to newer cars (just guessing).



HEY....a platform from 1979! Get it right...that's almost 1980. ;P

The 4th gen was 0.32 Cd... don't know if that's the square headlight or the later rounded headlight version.

 

[phucheneh]

That sounded somewhat impressive...until I did some looking and saw that an '85 Trans Am managed 0.29. =(

 

[SparkyJJO]

I was gonna say the 4th gen Camaro doesn't have a lot of drag. You were guessing pretty wrong

I have a 99 Camaro. Yeah, visibility is lacking in some cases but it isn't that bad (I've been in worse cars). I don't mind sitting on the floor. I know about where the front end is, although the 98+ does have a little taller hood in the front vs the 93-97 front end.