The recent Mercedes models are hardly anything to hold up as a success of aero design....they look like melted bars of soap.
In fact, I have a sneak peek at the newest Mercedes model that I'll share only with you guys...
This will be my next Ranger. I assume/hope it will be coming to North America given that Ford has stated all Ford Blue models will have hybrid power trains by 2030. The wait will be frustrating.
Because an ugly car is aerodynamic, it doesn’t mean every aerodynamic car has to be ugly. Ionic 6 is indeed ugly, but Mercedes in particular has accomplish much in this area lately with mass produced models.
Some features associated with making cars aerodynamic indeed add to higher costs, but others reduce costs. Manufacturers are more concerned with initial costs because it affects sales more directly, but improved aerodynamics can also reduce fuel consumption and hence longer-term costs. Cars that are more aerodynamic, especially HEV and PHEV, can operate with smaller engines which reduce weight and costs. And we shouldn’t ignore that reducing frontal area by making vehicles narrower and or lower (i.e.— smaller) typically also reduces aerodynamic drag and manufacturing costs at same time. Just saying aero reductions can be overdone, but not every improvement adds costs. In my opinion it is wrong to assume all aero improvements lead to more expensive and ugly vehicles.