I didn't get any photos of the area under the front bumper. In particular, I'm curious if there is a front air dam, regardless of size, or does the under body cover extend from the bumper smoothly towards the back? Thanks, Bob Wilson
Thanks Ken, I'm still looking for front air dam photos. Julian Edgar has an interesting article about an air and tire dam for the NHW10, Browser Warning. I'm looking for photos like these. Inspired by Julian, I'm thinking about getting some rolls of duct tape and doing some road tests. <GRINS> That is a nice video but I remember one just like it at the January 12, Detroit presentation of the 2010 Prius by Toyota. I must have missed seeing attribution of the source. Bob Wilson
Yesterday I was standing on a street corner waiting for the traffic light to change and about 1/3d of all cars had them. None of the pickup trucks and very few SUVs had them. Bob Wilson
Bob, I can extend your casual inquiry. Some six months ago, I too did a visual survey at a busy urban intersection. I would guess that the survey sample was some 3-400 cars in an hour's time. Cars most likely to have an air deflector in front of the wheels include almost all Japanese cars and the sportier German cars, BMW, Audi, some VWs, and if I remember correctly, Pontiacs. Most American cars... Well, forget about it. The dams are never more than 3 inches in height and flat. They are somewhat wider than the tire. There are usually mounted somewhat inboard so that some 2 or 3 inches of the outer portion of the tire is not masked. I take this to mean one or both of: * As is, the dams accelerate the air sufficiently to arc out only just enough to clear the tire. * Air flow under the body, even this far forward, is not directly fore- and-aft, but has an outward, sideways component. The dam is positioned off-center to the tire to get max deflection from the smallest horizontal dimension while fully masking the tire. One man's take on this intriguing bit of aerodynamics.
No, there is no air dam on the 2010. The bottom of the front bumper is flat. The front wheels have "spats" like the other models.
