Do you care about the aerodynamics of your Vanagon? The owner of the Vanagon picture above apparently does. In a piece about automotive aerodynamics at Curbside Classic’s website, a couple of commenters discussed the Vanagon. Reader Allstair, posted the picture above of a Vanagon with a “bustle” to reduce the negative pressure at the rear of the van.

this guy built a “bustle” to see if he could reduce the neg press drag at the the rear (I have anecdotal evidence on a computer somewhere showing increased mpg).

Could this “bustle” really improve your fuel efficiency? I suppose it could, but I’m not sure how noticeable it would be. It seems like the impact would be small at best.

Allstair also posted the following image of various Vanagon models in a wind tunnel.

As you can see in the image, the Vanagon is definitely not a Corvette. If the Vanagon were produced today, it would undoubtedly have to do better in the aerodynamics department.

Do you care about the aerodynamics of your Vanagon? Let me know in the comments.