No more flying coffins  

This weekend I did some highway driving, and after reading the bit in this Kottke item about trucking and load-optimization software, I had my eyes on the passing trucks. What really surprised me was how few cab-over-engine trucks ("flying coffins") I saw -- almost everything was the imposing long-nose trucks, usually with sleepers and rounded tops. I assumed that these trucks had replaced the flat-nose cab-over-engine trucks because they are more aerodynamic.

But I was wrong! According to Wikipedia these cabs are less aerodynamic than flat-nose trucks. Cab-over-engine trucks were more common in the US until the 80s, when regulations limiting truck length were loosened.