Automotive Design Pet Peeve: Rear Roof Spoilers
SUV rear roof spoilers all result in an impossible to clean strip at the top of the window.
As an architect, I rarely comment on design trends outside my field. Occasionally, however, something either catches my eye, or in this case simply frustrates me, to the point where I feel the need to comment. Today, I am focusing on something in the automotive design arena. I am not a gearhead and select my vehicles for their utility. I tend to prefer SUV’s, largely because I live in an area with frequent snow and ice. Every SUV I have owned for the last 20 years has come with one standard, built-in design flaw. You can see it in the photo below, and it is in no way unique to this model or brand. In fact, the model shown is one that I recently rented.
Yes, that’s right, car manufacturers make the rear roof spoiler either too long or in a configuration that makes it impossible to clean to the top of the rear window with a squeegee. For the last two decades I’ve been forced to drive around in a vehicle where the top of the rear window is obscured by dirt. No matter how hard I try every time I gas up, I cannot get that little strip clean. I must admit this has never turned into a safety hazard, as my rear view of the road and other vehicles is below that line. And I also admit that if I wished, I could take a wet rag and clean that bit of rear window. But why should I have to take this extra step when the solution is painfully obvious?
If one researches the purpose of these spoilers, it is theoretically to improve mileage or traction. There do not appear to be any specific design constraints that lead to the current design of most rear roof spoilers. Why then, does almost every manufacturer and model suffer from this defect? A simple reconfiguration of the underneath surface of the spoiler would allow a squeegee to reach to the top of the glass, while preserving whatever slight advantages they provide. I must wonder; has no automotive engineer associated with the design of SUV’s driven one and looked in the mirror and seen this condition? Has one of them not tried to clean the rear window and thought of making a simple fix?
A simple proposed redesign of the lower surface of the rear spoiler is below, resulting in a squeegee friendly design. Here’s my request to SUV designers – look at your vehicles through the eyes of us consumers and design accordingly! As a note, I am available for consulting to correct this obvious design flaw.
