Why must hybrids look the way they do?

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I've found virtually all cars to be different levels of hideous since the early 90s so they may as well get good gas mileage.

You need new glasses.
TVR Tuscan:
http://www.fastcoolcars.com/im...lpaper7/tvr_tuscan.jpg
Alfa Romeo 8C convertible:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/i...car_photo_262026_7.jpg
Lotus Elise:
http://www.puresportscar.com/g...se_white_reont-med.jpg

The last of these - the Elise - is not dealt justice by the picture. Furthermore, despite a sub-5-second 0-60 time, the Elise will still manage better than 30mpg. And the largely unmodified Toyota engine and gearbox is quite reliable, too.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: exdeath
Because there is no magic hybrid engine that makes 500 HP and still gets 60 mpg. The egg shape and low weight of a hybrid vehicle has just as much impact on fuel economy as the small hybrid gas-electric engine. The main reason they can get by with a smaller less powerful engine in the first place and still have reasonable performance is the chassis design, not so much the engine.

But you'll still have people who think it's as simple as putting a Prius engine in Hummer and getting 60 mpg or wonder why a Camry or Civic hybrid with 15 air bags and 500 watt stereo amps only gets 1/2 to 2/3 the mileage of a "real" hybrid that looks ugly.

On the other hand you could put a pure gasoline 1.5L Honda engine in a Prius and probably still get 50 mpg. Remember the CRX? 50 mpg with a carburetor in the 80s without a hybrid.

If I recall a truncated cone is the most efficient aerodynamic shape, short of a full cone that isn't practical for an automobile. At high speeds a truncated cone can behave exactly like a full cone, where the rate of taper and position of the truncation can be tailored to a specific velocity, in this case, highway speed. Cd can be as low as 0.20. The research and knowledge of this has existed since the 1930s. Hence why all hybrids look the same.

The most efficient shape is a cigar with pointed ends, not a raindrop or a truncated cone (is a truncated cone a tapered cylinder?)

The Prius and new Insight are shaped like regular cars, with a hatchback. I don't see how that overall shape makes them ugly. Planes have the same design, and I don't see Skoorb saying they look like shit. You want a notchback on your FA-22 Raptor??

A lot of people around here apparently hate hatchback cars for no good reason. Form follows function. If you can learn a little bit about aerodynamics I think you'd be able to appreciate both.

Do you draw these conclusions in your head, with a crayon?

Did you see the Panamera thread? There were quite a few anti-hatchback posts. It's obviously not because there's something inherently ugly about a hatchback, because people in other countries like them fine.

 

[FeuerFrei]

As strange as it seems, there is a portion of the market who want other people to know they are driving a hybrid.
Thus automakers try to make it look dorky and 'futurish' to make it stand out.

It's not simply aerodynamics.

Personally, I need my hybrid Camry to look just like the gas version. (Not that I would buy a hybrid or anything.)