Yes - but you are in the minority/fringe there. Unfortunately efficiency appears
to have little appeal in the USA.
I can understand why vertical windows appeal in the areas where the snowfall is
severe.I can understand why you might want lots of grunt, having driven the Peak
to peak highway in Colorado, in the "springtime". Hell it only snowed four
inches the day I drove the route.
However - I did drive it quite OK in a 1600cc Mazda auto. The scary part of the
trip was not the snow and high altitude - it was looking out of the window at
the eye-level hubcaps on the "Full Size Trucks" people use out there...

Scary thought - my 2.5l turbo behemoth (purchase excuse was so it was easier /
safer towing the glider) is considered a compact in the USA.


Dan wrote:
On Apr 11, 4:42 am, Cats wrote:
On Apr 9, 8:19 pm, Adam wrote:





More trailer-talk....
I have a Minden-Fab / Scheder-style trailer and tow with a 200hp V6
station wagon. The front "barndoor" of the trailer is about 1.5 to 2
feet higher than the roofline of the car. The whole setup feels draggy
on the road. 65 mph is about the limit before I feel like I am abusing
things. I get about 17 mpg with the trailer, 26mpg without. I plan on
a 3000 mile round trip this summer and with gas where it is, a few
more mpg would be nice.
I was wondering if it would be worth fitting a deflector to my luggage
rails near the back of the wagon to reduce the drag and increase my
mpg a few points (and my L/D would also go up too!).
I will can fabricate something from stainless sheetmetal that would
mount to my Thule rack. Any tips or guidelines on the form of such a
deflector are appreciated. Or is this a bad idea?
Speaking as someone who lives in the UK, it strikes me that a change
of tow vehicle could produce major fuel savings all the time. I mean
- 26mpg at best! My car is perfectly capable of towing my glider in
it's trailer at UK legal speeds, without the trailer it does almost
50mpg, with it it drops to low 40s. Surely similar vehicles are
available in the US?

Don't forget the US gallon is 3.78 l, and yours is 4.54 l per Imperial
gallon... This explains some of the apparent disconnect.

Some of us do tow with Jetta TDIs and get reasonable mileage.
Dan