We have had them in Canada for a few years.

One guy even brought one to a cruise night last week. What's this world coming to?

Dave

 

Pretty much the rest of the world has already come to the downsizing...we're just slow to accept it until our wallet is affected...

 

I applaud people for being GREEN, but the SMART car IMO does not get good enough gas mileage for what you give up. I talked to a SMART car owner the other day and he said he was getting MPGs in the 30's?! I think my brother's Civic gets better mileage (or atleast close)!! I'll pay the extra for gas - I love my vette!

Oh, and a pic of a MY () SMART for reference...

 

In this case, SMART is definitely a nisnomer!

 

They're a fad. And most buyers who give up their SUV/truck/gas guzzler car don't consider how long it'll take them in fuel savings to make up for the inflated costs of those little cars...

 

HEY, that's MY car. REALLY. Sure looks a LOT like it. SAME wheels, sigh. What a pretty car.



Jim

 

Well it's designed and built by Mercedes Benz and I've seen driven them several times while in Germany.

How safe is it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biYLn47VwJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

They drove it in a concrete barrier at 70mph...

Don't try this with your car.

 

How Smart is the Smart Car or for that matter, anything that small? There is no substitution for foot pounds...........that is, momentum. I don't care how safely the Smart is constructed, if it is involved in a collision with, for example, a 4300 pound BMW 740i, whoever is riding in the Smart will lose - - BIG TIME!

 

Looks like Bubba Joe Billy Bob Smith gotta a hold of this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDU5BU_qSJU

 

and faster ones

 

I just wouldn't want to get in a wreck while driving one of those.

 

Believe it or not, the Hummer H1 Alpha has better acceleration (0-60 in 13.5 seconds....probably 14.0 while towing a dozen smart cars sideways)

http://theexoticautosclub.wordpress....mmer-h1-alpha/

 

Problem is that The General, and Ford, and Chrysler all thought the Volkswagen Beetle was a fad. Until the fuel crunch of about 1973, when they couldn't build enough crummy Vegas and Pintos and whatever Chrysler was getting from Mitsubishi at the time. Dodge Colt - that's the ticket. That was the beginning of the ramp-down that we've seen in our domestic cars.

We know that GM can build a great car, and has engine management down to a science. So why is the Cobalt so much like it's predecessor (Cavalier), with similarly mediocre fit and finish, not enough scoot, and gas mileage little better than a babied Impala or Grand Prix or Lucerne? Hard to see the Cobalt (or it's little brother, the Aveo) as an improvement on the Smart Car, Yaris, Fit, and so on.

Is this thing really so much worse than an Aveo, or a Focus? They do look relatively easy to park, and to drive around town. I'm disappointed in the published mileage, and have to agree that buying one to reduce costs is probably a net loss game. But the same applies to the Prius and the Yaris and the Fit. Hopefully you buy one because you need the whole package. Mileage, sure, but the nimbleness and convenience would be the factors for me.

I saw one running down our local freeway a few weeks ago. I was doing 70 - he probably was at about 75 as he edged past me. He looked at the Vette and smiled and gave a thumbs-up. No indication he was unhappy with his car, or angry that I had the convertible.

I love my Vette. But I won't drive it in town anymore. Our city (and most of California) has decided that if you paint the parking space lines closer together, the cars will miraculously shrink to fit. And if I park at the far end of a parking lot, some tuner boy will park his Civic, with the VTEC badge, an R-Type emblem, and a wing that looks like it came off of an 1970 Chrysler racer, in the spot right next to my car and open his door against the Vette, even though there are roughly 1200 parking spaces between my car and the next closer car to the door.

A Smart Car, or Mini, or Fit, or any other roller skate makes a good deal of sense, so fine with me. They don't get in front of me on acceleration ramps often enough to bug me - it's usually someone in a people mover, or (most aggravating) a guy just back from his 117th birthday party in a Mercury Marauder or Crown Vic Police Interceptor (bought for just $499 at Dollar Bill's Easy Credit so he can go get that cheap lunch at the Indian Casino). Said guy, with his "tuned" 5.8 liter Ford performance mill, runs up the ramp, sees oncoming traffic, and STOPS DEAD STILL until he has a clear mile or so gap in which to merge.

Heck, the wind-up car guys usually at least peddle as hard as they can, and the more "green" they are, the more unlikely they are to even look over their shoulder - they have a right, earned by caring so much, darn it, to just motor onto the freeway. No stopping at the top for them

I'm gettin' old. But these little cars don't bug me much. Unless I get a sanctimonious one at the pump next to me, growling about it being evil to drive a big American V-8. But that happens seldom, and they're helping bring the gas prices down. By using less.

Oh, as to the motorcycles. I sold my FLHTCI (Harley bagger) a while back. I was feeling too old, and the 35 MPG it got was just not good enough to argue with my wife - her Grand Prix generally gets over 30 on the highway.

Life's too short to go through it pi$$ed off...

 

It's fine to want better fuel economy but that car looks ridiculous. I would be embarrassed to drive it. There are other vehicles that offer decent fuel economy without giving up styling, seating, storage. But, to each his own.

 

I saw one the other day driving the opposite direction of me.
There was 3 or 4 other cars in front of him including a firebird.
The only car to flash his lights to warn me that there was a speed trap ahead was the smart car.

He undoubtedly saved me a ticket.

 

I love the smart car. My mother has a diesel one, it gets mid to high 40 mpg in the city. It's a 3 cyl. I wouldn't say that it's as slow as people seem to think, of course it's not anywhere near as fast as a vette. But I've seen people in maseratti's taking their time on the on ramps. I think it depends more ot the person behind the wheel. It has more than enough seats to go shopping for groceries once a week, it's incredible in parking and tight spots, and gets to the speed limit about as fast as a civic. I haven't driven a gas version of it, but I can't imagine it being slower than a diesel, since the purpose behind the gas version was to increase the power level a little and have a decent mpg. I find it fun to drive, you can fit anywhere without a problem. plus you don't have to worry about people opening their doors into it at a parking lot as it is considerably narrower compared to a vette. Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my vette for a smart, but I wouldn't mind having both.

 

If it is MPG and performance we want, I will take a Lightning

http://jalopnik.com/399098/700hp-lig...-minute-charge

 

I like the Smart Cars.

The problem is in this country we are Dumb Asses that continue to think we need a 2 ton vehicle to haul our butts to the market and back.

We need a safe 1200 lb 2 seater. With technology today it is very easy to do.

Look at Indy cars. They can hit a wall at 200 mph and not hurt the driver. So don't give me that physics BS.

btw. A friend of mine just put a 650 hp turbo charged motor in a Smart car. (for sand drags) It sits where the passenger seat was. I'll try to dig up a picture of it.

 

Wouldn't be caught dead in one and the car really doesn't get that great of gas mileage.

 

Expensive?? No they aren't. We looked at one.
$99.00 down. Takes a year to get it delivered.

base model - no air, no radio, no power nothin' $11,000.

Mid range model - power air, windows, basic radio - $14K

Top of the line model and/ or convertible - $18K

You could have that thing paid off before it even got here!

Big whopping 3 squirrels...er...I mean cylinders. I think it got 35mpg city and 40 hwy.....