Smart Cars

To got along with the topic of Saving gas...I didn't want to hijack the Air Powered Thread....

These SmartCars are really neat, they are gas, but really tiny and 60MPG, I have seen a few running around, but from Canada. I think they will be starting to sell in US shortly. Supposedly really safe for the size.

http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-fortwo.aspx

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5217861

Hey Dave...maybe I should have named the "air powered" thread "High Miles per Gallon" or something like that!!

I looked at Smart a while back also. For some reason I thought they were initially priced higher. Either I read it wrong back then or they came down on price. Checked out some reviews on Edmunds.com about Smart. There's a couple mixed reviews on mpg. One thing I personally wish they would do is make a back seat so I could tote more than one passenger to town or my whole family of 4 to our friends' 5 miles away. Could use that back seat for my golf clubs also. I owned a used 2 seat Geo Metro from 94 - 99 (great gas milage)...one selling factor for that car was that my golf clubs fit in the trunk with the pull cart...tight fit but I got them in there

Saw one on the road yesterday, then saw the dealership, Rt30 in Devon, Pa.

Didn;t want to hijack your thread....

my buddy got a mini-cooper S last fall, WOW, nice little car, very peppy with the supercharger, and still gets 38+ mpg. It rides 4 adults pretty good. More room in them than you think.

I am thinking a neon, mini, etc.. or something small for the summer. I travel 15 miles one way for work and the truck and escape don't get much better then 20mpg.

When I was flying to Europe on a regular basis, the Smart car was the rage.. It fits in in Europe just fine... but take a look at the size... this 'car' is a sit-down motorcycle, with weather protection... I'm not too sure I'd want to drive one except in a very rural, low traffic setting... I would feel like a little insect trying to cross the street in a pedestrial cross-walk...

The main reason for the fuel mileage is weight... it doesn't take a lot of fuel to create enough power to move a light-weight object compared to a heavy object... But that weight usually provides protection for the occupants..

I like the Mini too,, fast, fun, economical.. and roomy...

In a city full of yellow cabs, and limosines... I think the smarty would become a flattyy smashyy pretty quick...

Greg L

Interesting video.. Now lets see a head-on crash between the light weight Smart or similar small car, and a 3/4 ton pickup, or a NYC yellow cab, the typical limo.. a Lincoln town car. or a Chevy caprice... I'll bet the survivabiliy in the large vehicly is 3 or 4 times as great... It's just physics..

If I had a loved one to protect,, I'd put her in a 3/4 ton pickup...

Greg L

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No no no... the solution is obviously to tax the hell out of the larger vehicles so that people will be disinclined to buy them. In fact, instate very high fuel taxes (as opposed to "moderate" tax increases that absolutely should be done) to act as a sort of retroactive tax against the larger, less fuel efficient cars. Also institute higher CAFE standards so all those larger cars have to cut weight in order to achieve the efficiency standard and make them a more even match for the small, morally pure smart car.

The only righteous way to make the world safe for these cars is, of course, to end the ownership of the larger cars. By just about any means necessary.



Actually had this exact debate in a public policy course in college. I was one of about 5 people in the class (25 or so in the class) that argued against the argument made above. The group was also against nuclear and coal power generation (a majority, but fewer than normal, were against wind and hydro power too), were in favor of outlawing non-commercial pickup truck and SUV ownership entirely (if you needed one you could rent it by the day), and were in favor of instituting policy that would have the effect of forcing rural and suburban residents to move into urban areas along with broad economic and energy and transportation reforms in the pursuit of the highest energy efficiency and lowest polution factor per capita possible.

It was a very long 10 weeks.

150 + MPG Diesel. Probably as safe as a Motorcycle. Youtube has more about this car also. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02 ... _157_m.php . Used to be all the rage to put big motors in little cars now I wonder when I will see the first Geo , Fiesta , Corolla or Chevette with a Kubota 2 or 3 cyl diesel show up on ebay.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/240685/sm ... s_ferrari/
I laughed my butt off when I first saw this vid

Well I guess it's nice to get high mileage on the way to the graveyard. I remember G gordon Liddy talking about his Suburban one day years ago on his show. He called it a panzer and said in a crash, he doesn't want to just survice, he wants to prevail.

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.

I'm not opposed to them. I see some on the road here from time to time. I just don't want to drive one or ride in one. I'm ok if you do though. I'd suggest a helmet. I drive a 3/4 ton 4x4 diesel pickup and get 16 mpg. It's not great mileage but for a truck this heavy it's not bad. Anybody make a coal fired pickup?

When your time is up it is up no matter what. i've been riding motorcycles for 35yrs now, yes they are dangerous but we all take a chance going out to get the mail every day. after riding a motorcycle for a time you don't think about it. the little cars are not any different except when the roads are bad in the winter and there are more accidents, then drive a tank we just don't think of the chances we all take going out of the house everday. 3 weeks ago a 12yr. girl was killed when a car slid out of control on ice, she was waiting for the school bus. just down the road from my house. TRYING to watch out for the other guy is the best thing we can all do.
What about wood and coal stoves/furnaces, my sister and her husband have been burning wood/coal for 40yrs always careful ,we were all at a family christmas party there house caught fire and destroyed it.

coalkirk wrote:I'm not opposed to them. I see some on the road here from time to time. I just don't want to drive one or ride in one. I'm ok if you do though. I'd suggest a helmet. I drive a 3/4 ton 4x4 diesel pickup and get 16 mpg. It's not great mileage but for a truck this heavy it's not bad. Anybody make a coal fired pickup?

Coal fired pick-up...you got me thinking!!! Size of stoker, size of water tank, boil for steam, HEY...didn't automobiles start with something like this

Smart Coal Stokin' Mini!!!