Active aerodynamics, a slippery obsession (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Chris Neiger

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Active aerodynamics employs self-adjusting front and rear spoilers, open and shut vents, and in-motion height adjustments to keep vehicles firmly planted on the road while maintaining optimum efficiency – whether in terms of speed, downforce or fuel consumption.

Much of the technology was born (or banned, in the case of Formula 1) on racetracks, and now can be found on everything from the most coveted supercars to the simplest four-wheeled conveyances.
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Quora user Shams Kazi mentioned early turbo versions of the Volkswagen New Beetle used active aerodynamics to raise and lower the rear wing. This built on earlier efforts with its 1990s-era Corrado sports hatchback. VW has since scrapped the Beetle's active aero, but other mass-production cars are bundled with their own systems.

The Eco model of the Chevrolet Cruze, for example, can be had with active front grille shutters that automatically close when the engine does not require gobs of air for cooling, which enhances fuel efficiency. Corporate parent General Motors now uses the technology across its brands.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20140819-carmakers-slippery-new-buzzword

[madokie]

1. Our 2014 focus has active front grille shutters

maybe I should say radiator shutters as they are directly in front of and attached to the brackets that the radiator is held in with. It also has a cover under the engine that goes almost all the way back to where the floorboard of the cabin starts. It has about a 6 inch gap between the lower engine/transmission/steering gear cover and the body. I had planned on doing my own oil changes until I seen this cover. Its held on with 14 fasteners/bolts that have to be removed to get to the oil filter and oil drain plug. All in the name of better fuel mileage. We're getting 33 to 34 mpgs in all around driving. On the one trip we took we got 37.8 mpg. I'm not going by what the computer is saying either, thats dividing the miles driven by gallons used.