Patent ID: 8887845

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: a vehicle body having a first end and a second end; a hood configured to cover a portion of the first end of the body to thereby define an under-hood compartment; and a stow-away air dam assembly disposed at the first end of the body and configured to control an airflow between the body and a road surface from outside the vehicle to the under-hood compartment, the air dam assembly including: a retractable portion having a plurality of retractable components; a drive shaft directly connected to each of the plurality of retractable components and configured to shift the retractable portion between a stowed position and a deployed position such that the retractable portion is set at a first height at the stowed position and at a second height at the deployed position, wherein the first height is greater than the second height relative to the road surface; and an actuator configured to operate the driveshaft.