just drove a Smart car

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by 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)

yes diesel, I dont know that they did a gas version but apparently the new '08 smart car is gas and can get to 60mph/100km/h in only 13 seconds.

http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=053dfc64-88a6-44e9-8c1e-e7ccfa7db295

"The current model has a three-cylinder, 800 cc, 40-horsepower, diesel engine that rewarded frugal drivers with fuel consumption that approached 3.8 litres/100 km on the highway. But it was also agonizingly slow. A recent Consumer Report test had the 0-100 km time pegged at 23 seconds, the slowest acceleration time for any new vehicle on the road."

[aigel]

I think it is great that cars start shrinking in size. I can see it already. Commuter traffic has a lot of mid size and compact cars. SUVs are getting less, at least for the daily commute.

George

[NICKG]

aigel, according the Brand manager for smart (he was there and helped us) San Fran has the largest amount of pre orders by a HUGE margin. you will see alot of these soon

[SLO-BOB]

Originally Posted by legion

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.

You cut off my quote just where I mention my concern over deceleration injuries so I already covered that. I was simply amazed that th structure held it's integrity. I guess I would rather be rattled than squished. That said, there just isn't anything to break away or crush to slow the car down. I think the Smart is designed to be an urban commuter. Imo, it would be silly to buy a short wwheel base car if you commute on the highway. If I'm not mistaken, the mileage also drops on the highway. My shortest drive is typically 20 miles. I'll never own a Smart if that doesn't change.

I do like the Smart Roadster. Same deal though. City car.



I'm surprised about the MB story. A friend was rear ended in his 300 TD wagon a long while back. It surely felt as though it was carved out of a solid billet of steel. However, it took some serious abuse in the wreck and was totaled. We were all a bit surprised that it folded up so apparently easy, but the explanation was that MB designed it to crumple just as it did. I think the bumper strip was the only thing that did survive.

[legion]

Don't get me wrong, I'm considering a used Smart in a few years used as a commuter. If everyone drove less massive cars, everyone would be safer on the highway. (Would you rather get hit by a Suburban or a Mini?)

Still, less material to absorb impact energy is not a good thing.

[911Rob]

First time I saw one of these smart cars was in Calgary; I couldn't believe it!
Looks like a golf cart with doors.

I can see driving one to get from hole to hole, or in the City from building to building; but never on the highway? No thanks. Although, my opinion is in complete ignorance as I don't know the first thing about them?

My car on the other hand is not only smart, but sexy, has character and personality; but she is high maintenance!

Enjoy your new car and thanks for posting!

[frogger]

Originally Posted by SLO-BOB

They seem like a decent car. Reasonable price. 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! Gotta wonder if the occupents would survive the deceleration injuries, but impressive none the less. The other attractive aspect of the Smart is the tiny footprint. You can park where no normal car has gone before which is a God send in a big city. The only dissapointing thing is the unimpressive mileage. I would like to think a car that small could break the 50 mpg barrier.

I was under the impression that the occupants would be legless after a serious crash. I saw the video of the crash into a concrete barrier and their was nothing left below where the knees would be. IMO, of course.

[frogger]

What do you guys think their ideal market is? I was thinking that it's a metro commuter and not much else. It's not a family car. It's probably not a grocery getter. Not what a soccer Mom needs either. So, it seems to me that they are banking on a lot of people that live in the cities to buy them to commute. With hybrids more widely available, the Smart is not the winner on fuel economy. So, it must be that the marketing strategy is to promote a low cost, fairly fuel efficient car that is small enough to park in tight spaces. Oh yeah, that's only important if you're trying to park on city streets, where there are no meters, so you can pack the cars closer together. But most commuters from suburbia will end up parking in parking garages, which have big enough spaces for a regular car. So maybe it's not such a great commuter car for suburb dwellers. Perhaps it's better for city dwellers to drive around in the city. I wonder how big a market that is? And how big a market is those that buy it for its smug factor?

[flashgordon13]

I'm thinking of getting one for a commuter. Everyone keeps pointing to hybrids, but you can't buy a hybrid for $12k. For the price there is nothing to compete with a smart car. I figure this is a cheap form of transportation and the fuel savings are a bonus. They should have no trouble selling enough of these little tin cans to make it profitable to continue production. They will never be a huge success in our bigger is better mindset, but still it's a good product for a small portion of the market.

[Jim Richards]

I've seen a couple of them in DC lately. I wonder if they will be successful.

[SLO-BOB]

Legion

"(Would you rather get hit by a Suburban or a Mini?)

Still, less material to absorb impact energy is not a good thing."

Frogger

"I was under the impression that the occupants would be legless after a serious crash. I saw the video of the crash into a concrete barrier and their was nothing left below where the knees would be. IMO, of course."

I'm with you guys. It's one of the reasons I bought my wife a Yukon XL. There is no substitute for mass in a crash. My paramedic buddy will confirm that with many horror stories of sub compact fatalities and the unscathed Large vehicle driver. In that case, the little car becomes the crumple zone for the big car.

You have to admit though - that the Smart didn't just flatten out like a bug when hitting that wall is impressive.

Frogger

"What do you guys think their ideal market is?"

I think densely packed urban areas suit the Smart. Cities like London, Toronto, and Paris have very tight parking, narrow streets, and lots of traffic. It's no mystery why I've seen more Smarts in those cities than anywhere else. The Smart works well there. Here in the sticks it wouldn't play so well. I still think it should get better mileage.

[911teo]

We have had them in Europe for ages.

My dad had one for 10yrs now. I have driven it several times, including on the highway. In Italy (Milan) and all the bigger European continental cities they are useful because of their size.

It was mostly impossible to find a parking spot in the congested European metropolis and the smart was a good idea. It was also "young", ecological and affordable.

It got fashionable pretty quickly and it became the 3rd-4th car of the weatlhier families (or the 1st car for their 18yr old children).

It's an ok car to drive. Badly understeering and with an annoying sequential autobox. Maybe the newer ones have improved gearchange but my dad's one is really bad.

But who cares about the driving qualities... realistically you are not going to take it to the race track and in the city it's small size and agility make it a valid alternative.

When it 1st came out it was a novelty. Now the other manuf have caught up offering other minis that are not so compromised.

Reliability is strong. My dad's car has 50k city miles (stop-go-stop-go) and only had the regular oil changes.

On the motorway it's a little scary and it tops out at the illegal speed of 105mph...

[NICKG]

we are buying the smart for a commuter car/ around town car, we have a Jetta for the highway. The area i am in is a bedroom community heaven...most of the county (over 80%) commutes out for work here, so it will be good. Even though i drive on the highways to get to work, the average speed is less than 30 mph..rarely over 50, so it will be great for my commute.
also, I am confident that if i don't like it, i can easily get my $$ back in resale (sold out for the next 3 years)

[Dantilla]

The Smart's structure is impressive. But as Legion brought up, lack of crumple area will just turn the occupant's internal organs into soup in a major crash.

Look back to the tragic Carrera GT crash at the Ferrari track day a couple years ago- The CGT's structure around the passenger compartment survived a 160 mph hit into a wall. Unfortunately, both people were killed instantly from massive internal injuries from the G-forces that accompany an instantanous decelleration from 160 to 0.

I'm not a big-car fanatic. While I do have a full-size truck for hauling/towing, I also have a Miata. But even from a Miata, the Smart looks a bit scary. I do live in a rural area, so just to get to town, I drive at close to highway speeds. Faster than I'd care to go in a Smart.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Great for a city car, makes perfect sense. Small size for making your way through dense traffic and parking, decent MPG. Pretty much worthless for anything else. Driving 75 MPH on the highway next to a semi in one of those would be sheer terror.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

That yellow one with the body styling above looks almost sexy. I imagine when BRABUS comes out with their modified versions (which I'm sure will triple the price tag) they'll be downright Elise-like.

[jyl]

I like the idea of a Smart for cities with very congested street parking.

However, in most large US cities, street parking spaces are individually marked and metered. Thus being able to squeeze a Smart into the gaps between other parked cars may simply guarantee a ticket when the metermaid comes along.

Will US meter maids will be forgiving to the Smarts that park at 90 degrees to the curb, even though they fit just fine? Not to mention, it's only a matter of time before some SUV driver gets angry that a Smart squeezed in 1 foot from his bumper, and decides to bumper-car his way out of the space.

[Craig 930 RS]

These are the all new Smart chassis.
Previous not-so-hot version was available here locally from GreencarGo -

The manu-matic takes ageeeeess between shifts.
Car does the shimmy on the freeway when it encounters a wind gust.
Expect a not too Smart 34 mpg overall, pretty damn crappy.

Plenty of crumple, this is simply not a concern.
TONS of room, even if you are 6'4".

If you want a cutesy car for a particular situation such as tight parking, perhaps a need to be noticed, OR have a particular situation where this is THE car for you - as Nick indeed does, then this is the car for you. Other wise, there are many other better choices for about the same money.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Craig 930 RS

If you want a cutesy car for a particular situation such as tight parking, need to be noticed, and, well I cna't think of anything else - then this is the car for you.

I wasn't impressed.

That said, sounds like a viable car for Nick.

Nice head shot!

[NICKG]

nice...