just drove a Smart car

[the]

I've seen a couple of them in the past few weeks. What a tiny car. Kind of jars the senses when you first see one on the freeway, they look like a toy among giants.

[Dantilla]

Somebody close to me owns one. I see it semi-regularly.

If it ever got in a tangle with an F-250, I think it would simply get punted off the road.

[ckissick]

My 911 is pretty dumb, but she makes up for it in the looks dept.

[aigel]

What made them unpopular in Europe is the poor gas mileage (compared to say a VW Lupo Diesel) and the fact that there is not much room for transporting anything but two passengers. They will be a huge success here because public transportation stinks, compared to Europe and a "city car" may actually be a good concept.

George

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alton

You think they are going to become the next best seller?

Just let the rest of the soccer mom's see another soccer mom pull up to the Starbucks in one (while talking on her cellphone) and BAM! Sales will skyrocket. Gotta keep up with the neighbors...

[svandamme]

i find Smart's scary to be in when driving on highway with other dumb cars

[hytem]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

Topping Al Gore III's 100-mph allegedly doobie-fueled sprint in a production Prius, Toyota's own Landspeed Prius cracked the hybrid speed record on a run at Bonneville. Starting with the car's stock Hybrid Synergy Drive system -- a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and 50 kw permanent-magnet electric motor -- the Toyota team gave the transmission a taller final-drive ratio and beefed up the inverter charge from 500 to 550 volts. With lowered suspension, roll cage and moon-disked wheels, the 130-mph Landspeed Prius looks, dare we say, almost sexy.

Porsche take notice.

[red-beard]

I would far rather have one of these:



I drove one in Spain last summer, with a 1.6 liter diesel and 6 speed tranny. Wow! Good pickup and very thrifty on the Gas. Fit and finish were what you'd expect from a BMW. Decent amount of space for a good around town vehicle. I would buy one in a second. BMW will not import a hatchback for the USA market. And if they did, it would be a Gasoline only and the smallest engine would be a 2.5. They are offering the 1 series coupe with a 2.5 or 3.0 engine in the USA.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by svandamme

i find Smart's scary to be in when driving on highway with other dumb cars

That's my biggest reason for not looking into one. Here in the U.S., the drivers are typically about 50 times stupider than in Europe. Can you imagine being on the L.A. freeways full of their stupid/inattentive drivers and the "wanna-be tough guy" crowd of tattooed/pierced jerkoffs driving their jacked up Silverados with the "Calvin-pissing-on-Ford-logo" sticker displayed in the back window to advertise their intellectual prowess?

Trust me, every time you go on the road around here, you take your life into your own hands with the retards out here. I think putting onesself in a Smart Car (sadly) only decreases your chance of survival exponentially. Tragedy, because they really do seem well-designed and a great step forward in sustainable thinking.

For around town, maybe. For driving on the freeways, not a chance in hell.

[NICKG]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Well the steering will not have reminded you of an 83 GTI. The steering feels like the rudder on a sailboat. No feel whatsoever.

not really, i thought it was nice, a bit boosted, but still nice
we only get gas cars here,mileagewise i suspect that it will do great. Recall that the prius "got" 50+ mpg..but now that the epa revised the mpg test it is much less.

[NICKG]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I would far rather have one of these:



I drove one in Spain last summer, with a 1.6 liter diesel and 6 speed tranny. Wow! Good pickup and very thrifty on the Gas. Fit and finish were what you'd expect from a BMW. Decent amount of space for a good around town vehicle. I would buy one in a second. BMW will not import a hatchback for the USA market. And if they did, it would be a Gasoline only and the smallest engine would be a 2.5. They are offering the 1 series coupe with a 2.5 or 3.0 engine in the USA.

well for 30k it should be good. right?

[aigel]

[Komenda Fan]

I see quite a few of them around here, makes some sense in the city, but then I would take the subway or streetcar around the city. Looks very odd on the highway. I think a lot of people buy them as a statement. They are roomy inside and do seem to be well assembled. I'm personally more inclined to pick up a Civic for my daily commute.

[Palum6o]

A Smart dealership just opened up down the street from me and we see them all the time now - lots of people test driving them. I'm glad to see something different on the road. I had a 3-cylinder Suzuki powered Chevy Sprint back in the late 80's, I got 400 miles on an 8 gallon tank once...

[legion]

Originally Posted by SLO-BOB

The crash tests are nothing short of amazing. One shows a Smart car ramming into a oncrete barrier at 70 mph. The passenger compartment remains intact!

That's actually a problem. That means that all of the energy of a crash is transferred to the occupants. I had an '85 MB 300D that was built like a tank as well. One day, while at the shop, I was talking to a lady who had the same model. She had been rear-ended a few years ago. The impact broke both of he legs. The car needed a new rubber bumper strip. She praised how well the car held up. I don't think she understood physics.

[svandamme]

dunno Legion

would you prefer that the passenger compartment crushes you instead ?

i'll take impact high G's a la John Stapp any time over sitting in a tin can as collapses and compacts myself while doing so

[legion]

No, I would prefer that the car have enough material outside of the passenger compartment to absorb the energy of an impact. The passenger compartment itself should be rigid.

[Dave L]

crash stats aside, I followed one of these cars on an uphill on ramp. The complete inability to accelerate to highway speed makes it dangerous in my books. I think he made it up to about 80km/h at the end of the ramp and "merged" into 120-130km/h traffic. I think they are interesting and would be perfect for an in town commuter but I see them on the highway everyday, I think they belong on the highway about as much as a moped.

[NICKG]

i dunno, maybe it was a diesel. the car i drove merged into traffic fine (rt 95 coming off the GW bridge down the hill)

[RWebb]

"Here in the U.S., the drivers are typically about 50 times stupider than in Europe. Can you imagine being on the L.A. freeways full of their stupid/inattentive drivers and the "wanna-be tough guy" crowd of tattooed/pierced jerkoffs driving their jacked up Silverados with the "Calvin-pissing-on-Ford-logo" sticker displayed in the back window to advertise their intellectual prowess?

Trust me, every time you go on the road around here, you take your life into your own hands with the retards out here. "

Absolutely right - tho something of an understatement....

The Smart does meet or exceed US and Euro crash standards. And , remember, they use instrumented dummies to simulate effects on the humans in the car. I'm sure it's farily tough.

But, we will want to see what the IIHS (Insurance co. consortium) tests say - they do stuff beyond NHTSA.

Anyway, I'm glad the Smart is here even tho I won't be buying one. My city car is a bicycle.