The Smart Cars are coming

[tvashtarkatena]

and they're pretty cheap:

 

Smartcar USA

 

Back to the future: From left to right: The Messerschmidt Kabinenroller and BMW Isseta from the early '50s alongside today's Daimler AG SmartCar

 

Edited November 17, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[joblo7]

and they're pretty cheap:

 

Smartcar USA

 

Back to the future: From left to right: The Messerschmidt Kabinenroller and BMW Isseta from the early '50s alongside today's Daimler AG SmartCar

 

 

cV4HdsDZX6c

 

they 're cool, my friend had one. we unloaded it off a truck with 6guys! this one is MODDED.!!

[Crux]

Smart ForTwo Pure

I wanna be pure smart. The engine and functionality reminds me of the Geo Metro I drove through the rain and snow last Winter. I wound up really liking the car, only it was a tad worn out and actually a little bigger than necessary. Pure smart coming up!

[murraysovereign]

and they're pretty cheap:

 

Smartcar USA

 

Back to the future: From left to right: The Messerschmidt Kabinenroller and BMW Isseta from the early '50s alongside today's Daimler AG SmartCar

 

 

I've had mine for about a year and a half - even the same colour as the one shown. I love it - fun, economical, and surprisingly good on the highway. Drove from Lake Louise to Penticton this summer for just under $18.00

 

Chicks seem to dig it, too. They just don't think much of me but I don't think that's the car's fault.

 

Too bad you Yanks have to settle for a gasoline version - mine's a 3-cylinder turbo diesel, but they're not allowed in your country.

[ZimZam]

While in the Netherlands, I saw several of them. Along with all kinds of other old school Mini-whatevers. More bikes than cars. Uber funky.

 

The BMW Isetta is entered from the front. It swings open, you hop in and then close your door/windshield.

[ericb]

i've seen a couple on the freeway, pretty interesting. The big concern for me would be safety....the SUV ratio in this country would make them a bit frightening for the commute.

Edited November 17, 2007 by ericb

[tvashtarkatena]

i've seen a couple on the freeway, pretty interesting. The big concern for me would be safety....the SUV ratio in this country would make them a bit frightening for the commute.

 

They're really safe. They do very well in crash tests, and have four airbags (2 more for side collisions). They also do not roll very easily. All in all, they are very likely safer than SUVs, which have some of the worst injury statistics of any type of vehicle due to their tendency to roll easily.

 

The way to do something about the SUV ratio in this country is to do something about the SUV ratio in this country. If not you, who? If not now, when?

 

Or something like that.

Edited November 17, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[tvashtarkatena]

Other advantages:

 

With a 1600 lb curb weight, less embodied energy is required to manufacture them. Components are made to be recycled. They're short: 2 Smart cars can fit into one parking, and smart cars take up only half the room of an average vehicle on the highway, which eases traffic congestion. And they're simple, which SHOULD mean less maintenance. And...they are $11,000 cheaper than a Prius, which means fewer commutes required to save the money to purchase one.

Edited November 17, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[lizard_brain]

Where do you get them maintained around here? What's that cost?

[tvashtarkatena]

They're available in 2008, so all will (maybe) be revealed. They're a Daimler product, so I wonder if Chrysler dealerships will service them. The MSRPs are listed on the website. You can 'reserve' one now. Given the combo of sticker price and economy and fun factor, and that half of Seattle households consist of only one person, I predict they'll be very popular.

 

Another form of high mpg transport I'd like to see make a big comeback is the small displacement motorcycle. You don't see many 250 cc and under bikes these days. The Honda Rebel and Kawasaki Ninja 250s will get 70 mpg for a sticker price under $3K. Cheaper, safer, and more useful (freeway capable) than a scooter while delivering same fuel economy. Even better for traffic congestion, especially because motorbikes can use HOV lanes. The new models even have pollution controls.

Edited November 17, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[joblo7]

 

 

could get one these. .. 135mpg ..... pretty smart looking.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

Edited November 17, 2007 by joblo7

[lizard_brain]

 

could get one these. .. 135mpg ..... pretty smart looking.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

 

base price: $98,000

 

I'm out.

[murraysovereign]

They're available in 2008, so all will (maybe) be revealed. They're a Daimler product, so I wonder if Chrysler dealerships will service them.

 

Roger Penske is importing them, and he has an agreement to distribute them through Chrysler dealerships, so they will handle sales and service.

 

As for the safety aspect, these little cars are very well designed and built. Obviously in a head-on with a semi you'd be toast, but so would your SUV driver. And in a collision with an SUV, I'd rather be in my Smart than in another SUV. The black part of the car that you see in the photo is a tubular steel crash cage, similar to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. And the passenger restraint system is designed to minimize the shock load to the occupants. It's kinda like being inside the airbag.

 

But the system relies on the other vehicle's crumple zone to absorb and dissipate the force of the collision. So, paradoxically, the thing I fear most is a head-on collision with another Smart, because it would just be crash cage against crash cage and both cars would instantly stop, subjecting the occupants to huge g-forces. Or going straight into a concrete wall at, say, 70 mph. Like this:

 

 

CJHpUO-S0i8

Edited November 17, 2007 by murraysovereign

[Fairweather]

They're available in 2008, so all will (maybe) be revealed. They're a Daimler product, so I wonder if Chrysler dealerships will service them. The MSRPs are listed on the website. You can 'reserve' one now. Given the combo of sticker price and economy and fun factor, and that half of Seattle households consist of only one person, I predict they'll be very popular.

 

Another form of high mpg transport I'd like to see make a big comeback is the small displacement motorcycle. You don't see many 250 cc and under bikes these days. The Honda Rebel and Kawasaki Ninja 250s will get 70 mpg for a sticker price under $3K. Cheaper, safer, and more useful (freeway capable) than a scooter while delivering same fuel economy. Even better for traffic congestion, especially because motorbikes can use HOV lanes. The new models even have pollution controls.

 

The Rebel is barely freeway capable. At 60mph the bike vibrates so badly you can't see images in the mirrors and your feet vibrate so badly they go numb. I rode my wife's old Rebel across the Tacoma Narrows in a storm years ago - the buffeting was barely manageable. I'm sure more dampening, efficiency and counterbalance would make this a great bike, but it's really only an in-town commuter. Yamaha makes a neat little 250 Virago as well - maybe the V-formation is a little quieter than Honda's in-line.

 

Strangely, I've seen a lot of guys out on the road with Honda Helux 250cc scooters. Some of them are touring hundreds of miles from home!

[tvashtarkatena]

The Kawi Ninja 250 seems like a lot more bike and versatility for the $ and mpg than the Honda. You've got to wear the required Quicksilver shorts, Metallica T shirt, and bassetball shoes to be seen on one, though.

 

Until gas hits $10 a gallon or someone just flat out gives me one of these things, it's not worth me buying even a well used 250 to supplement my 800 for around town use. A bicycle's the way to go for the short sprints, anyway.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

that video is awesome. if we could get a 70mpg diesel in the states, i'd be psyched to check one out.

[tvashtarkatena]

My guess is that if the gas version of the Smart is a hit in the USA, the turbo diesel will quickly follow. Each model's design has to be modified to meet US standards, so there will probably be a lag time.

[lizard_brain]

I bought my last car new about 1 & 1/2 years ago, so I'm not gonna trot out and buy one of these, but I'd consider it for my next car unless the Outback made some serious changes in the next 10 years. What the hell, it gets 24-26, they claim the Smart gets 40, so I assume that means 35-37.

[Fairweather]

that video is awesome. if we could get a 70mpg diesel in the states, i'd be psyched to check one out.

Diesel soot kills glaciers.

[adventuregal]

Perhaps if Smart Cars become popular it will force our generally overweight population to lose some pounds so they actually can fit in them...

 

[Fairweather]

I bought my last car new about 1 & 1/2 years ago, so I'm not gonna trot out and buy one of these, but I'd consider it for my next car unless the Outback made some serious changes in the next 10 years. What the hell, it gets 24-26, they claim the Smart gets 40, so I assume that means 35-37.

 

That's all the mpg Smart Cars get?!?! Shit, my daughter's Toyota Tercel gets 43hwy, and the new Corollas are rated 42!

[Fairweather]

Smart ForTwo Pure

I wanna be pure smart. The engine and functionality reminds me of the Geo Metro I drove through the rain and snow last Winter. I wound up really liking the car, only it was a tad worn out and actually a little bigger than necessary. Pure smart coming up!

 

[murraysovereign]

Diesel soot kills glaciers.

 

Yeah, but Ice Ages kill dinosaurs, causing diesel. So those glaciers had it coming.

[murraysovereign]

I bought my last car new about 1 & 1/2 years ago, so I'm not gonna trot out and buy one of these, but I'd consider it for my next car unless the Outback made some serious changes in the next 10 years. What the hell, it gets 24-26, they claim the Smart gets 40, so I assume that means 35-37.

 

That's all the mpg Smart Cars get?!?! Shit, my daughter's Toyota Tercel gets 43hwy, and the new Corollas are rated 42!

 

Not sure about those numbers. My diesel gets 65 mpg (US gallon) or better on the highway. I know the US gasoline version of the Smart has about 50% more horsepower, and somewhat lower fuel economy as a result, but I'm surprised that the rating is that much lower.

[lizard_brain]

How about one of these?

 

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