Doug, I think this is work of the marketing department. They may have staged
these tests to help their sales. If the fins had any real practical
usefulness, they would have been used in later years.
Anybody that owns both a "finned" AND an "unfinned" Imperial. Do you see ANY
difference in cross winds? The comparison is valid only if both cars have good
front end bushings (bad bushings and excessive front end height can make the
car wonder in crosswinds).
D^2, that does like the finned styling, especially the 1960 model year.
Quoting "Crown58imp@xxxxxxx" <Crown58imp@xxxxxxx>:
> elements incorporated into these cars. All fins are not created equal,
> however. Exner actually tested models of his designs on a wind tunnel to
> get
> the most efficient aerodynamics. This is how he came to the conclusion
> that
> the canted fin was best. Unlike Exner, GM's designers tacked on
> inefficient
> straight up style fins on their cars. The casnted fin proved itself in
> wind
> tunnel test to have the best aerodynamics and ability to cheat the
> effect of
> cross winds. This is why Mopars have canted fins rather than straight up
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