Smart Cars

coalkirk · By: **coalkirk** On: Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:13 pm

If it's made in Japan, we could call it a rice burner.

coalshop · By: **coalshop** On: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:00 pm

What about a Coal Stokin Bike

WNY · By: **WNY** On: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:08 pm

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12 ... red_tr.php

stockingfull · By: **stockingfull** On: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:43 pm

BugsyR wrote:I somewhat agree about safety but I think there is a serious disconnect here. I don't know what everyone's personal feelings are about motor cycles but if we are going to compare a small gas sipping car versus a 3/4 ton gas guzzling pick ups in head on collisions....I think we will have to also compare the Smart in a head on collision with a Harley Davidson.
My personal opinion is that if DOT deems motorcycles are safe to drive at high rates of speed on all roads then how in the world can anyone deem an enclosed vehicle unsafe for our roads because it is small?
I guess we would even have to test our Tahoes, Excursions, and Suburbans against say a Good Ol' Bulldog Mack Truck.
I want motorcycle type gas mileage in an enclosed vehicle that has heat in the winter and a roof to keep me dry when it rains. If it is deemed too small for the highway at 65mph, I promise I will stay on the side roads. I've actually been eyeballing a Cushman and wondering why can't we drive those on side roads and Mopeds are allowed???

I know I'm slightly off balance in the brain...too much lead paint in my past ...but I'm getting annoyed by gas prices and it doesn't seem like the auto industry is working quick enough or good enough to combat against those prices. And when something does come along...we want to squash it because it might not be safe enough because it is a car and it must go through crash testing. I say screw the crash tests...if my friend wants to take chances on his Harley...I want to be allowed to take chances in my small car at 60 mpg.

Actually, Bugsy, you're the only one here who's making an ounce of sense. Collisions are a Newtonian game, and we can't afford to up the inertia ante anymore in pursuit of the ephemeral concept of staying "safe." Motorcycle loses to SmartCar, which loses to big car, which loses to Explorer, which loses to Suburban, which loses to Excursion, which (maybe) loses to H2, which loses to "short school bus," which loses to big school bus, which loses to Greyhound bus, which loses to Peterbilt, which loses to Abrams tank... what's the point?

The Smart Car v. Opel Corsa vid was great, because it demonstrates that small cars can protect your body just fine, so long as the ultimate deceleration rate transmitted to your body in a collision stays below a certain level, above which the soft tissue decelerations inside your head and chest will kill you.

And pvolcko, the tax experiment in your college seminar is going on right now, only it's going on with the pure market "tax" of petro cost. Results are the same, only less time and opportunity this way to prepare and make provisions for those who truly need bigger iron. $4.30/gal diesel is the new "flat tax."

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:10 pm

BugsyR wrote:HEY...didn't automobiles start with something like this

Check out the Doble, it had a flash boiler and would be ready to drive in about a minute. This was back around 1910 and it was a very powerful car at the time.

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:50 pm

BugsyR wrote:I somewhat agree about safety but I think there is a serious disconnect here. I don't know what everyone's personal feelings are about motor cycles but if we are going to compare a small gas sipping car versus a 3/4 ton gas guzzling pick ups in head on collisions....I think we will have to also compare the Smart in a head on collision with a Harley Davidson.
My personal opinion is that if DOT deems motorcycles are safe to drive at high rates of speed on all roads then how in the world can anyone deem an enclosed vehicle unsafe for our roads because it is small?
I guess we would even have to test our Tahoes, Excursions, and Suburbans against say a Good Ol' Bulldog Mack Truck.
I want motorcycle type gas mileage in an enclosed vehicle that has heat in the winter and a roof to keep me dry when it rains. If it is deemed too small for the highway at 65mph, I promise I will stay on the side roads. I've actually been eyeballing a Cushman and wondering why can't we drive those on side roads and Mopeds are allowed???

I know I'm slightly off balance in the brain...too much lead paint in my past ...but I'm getting annoyed by gas prices and it doesn't seem like the auto industry is working quick enough or good enough to combat against those prices. And when something does come along...we want to squash it because it might not be safe enough because it is a car and it must go through crash testing. I say screw the crash tests...if my friend wants to take chances on his Harley...I want to be allowed to take chances in my small car at 60 mpg.

Actually I don't think the DOT considers a motorcycle safe.... at all. And some states don't require helmets.. Oh well, Darwin's Laws eventually prevail..

My likes and dislikes on vehicles pivot around what other drivers can do to me... I used to commute on a Motorcycle... and got run off the road, pulled in front of, sandwiched out of my lane onto the white line between two cars way too often... the fun of riding the bike became constant defensive-driving which gets very tiring..

The smarty car in europe fit right in,, most cars in the city are small.. there just isn't room.. But in say NYC, virtually 80% of the vehicles are cabs and limos.. so a small car is just about like a motorcycle..

It's all personal taste,, your tollerance for risk, your willingness to drive more defensively etc... I just prefer to drive a large, tall vehicle for my regular rush-hour commute,,, and I use a VW TDI Jetta for longer drives.. can't beat 45+mpg..

I wish I could find the photo,, it's probably gone,,, but in Stuttgart, the 'authorities' made some 'smart-car' parking spots... the cars were parked sideways in a normal parallel parking spot, with the rear or front tires on the curb, and protruding onto the sidewalk a foot or so... If the sidewalk was wide enough, these spots provided two spaces where one 'normal car' would fit if parallel parked..

I'll be currious to see if the Smart car lives up to it's mileage claims too.. the hybrids haven't done as well as advertised..

To each their own....

Greg L

Charlie Z · By: **Charlie Z** On: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:36 am

That crash film was very impressive - it held together as good as something that small can. I'm surprised it can even go that fast.

The only place they make sense would be a city. We lived in the city for years and I could see it happening there. Parking is a PITA. (Of course, we had the only F150 in town.)

Mileage is disappointing; about what the TDI and Ford Escape Hybrid can do. That's a lot less car for that mpg.

Fuel consumption*
City/highway (mpg) 40/45 (EPA 2007); 33/41 (EPA 2008)

(http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-techn ... tions.aspx)

We gotta do something... $140 fill-ups are a drag.

Duengeon master · By: **Duengeon master** On: Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:37 am

Smart cars are made by Mercedes. I know so because my company Bavarian Motor transport has exclusive rights to haul them. I drive the car carrier that delivers them. They get only 44 mpg which is pretty poor considering the size and weight of the car. However soon they will approve the diesel for U.S. emmisions, the smart car will get over 80 mpg! The mercedes diesel is the cleanest diesel in the world.It will make a Toyota prius look like a cadillac. every Smart car thru 2009 has allready been sold in this country. That tells you how popular they are. The name of the dealership on rt. 30 is called Mercedes of Devon. I go there all the time with Mercedes suv's GL, R, and ML's The receptionist Chrissy looks like Mary Livingstone of the Jack Benny show. She is a very nice lady and I enjoy delivering to that dealership.

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:14 am

Seems like this idea has been around for a while.

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coalkirk · By: **coalkirk** On: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:55 am

I think that last little orange number was called an Isetta. My neighbor when I was growing up had a guest visit one time with one of those. My neighbor, who was a large state trooper, picked the front of up off of the ground. Made quite an impression on me. I wouldn't want to be a front end collision in that thing. Cute though.

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:12 am

coalkirk wrote:I think that last little orange number was called an Isetta.

Yup, Isetta. Remember this one?

http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/subaru360.html

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:34 am

The Isetta was made by BMW, had a single rear wheel, a BMW motorcycle drive-train... I remember seeing on in a showroom in the late 50's-early 60's my Dad was getting parts for a Simca.. now that's an oddball. we also had a Daulphine [sp?] really junk..The VW's proved to be very tough. I learned to adjust the brakes and the clutch on Mom's car when I was 10yrs old...
Seems that I grew up with grease under my fingernails..

Greg L

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:01 pm

How about this?

http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/ ... 201958.htm

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:06 pm

And don't forget the Metropolitan.

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Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:12 pm

My uncle bought one of these new in '67 to replace his '59 Biscayne. My cousin later used it while going to college.

http://www.chaosmusic.ca/sunbeam/

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