I thought Smart Cars were suppose to be safe. - Page 6 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

jamesqf · 08-22-2009, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadisonMPG

Couldn't smart add a foot to the front and rear of the car and make it much safer, and more aerodynamic.

The small size is one of the Smart's major selling points in Europe, where parking spaces are generally very limited. When I lived there, I'd frequently see two Smarts parked in one standard spot.

Something to consider WRT to size and crashworthiness: take two beams, identical except that one is twice as long as the other, and try to bend them them. You'll find that it takes considerably LESS force to bend the longer one.

Christ · 08-22-2009, 01:54 AM

I just can't see a Smart really being practical, at all, especially when they don't get that great of economy, compared to even cars like the Ford Escort, Honda Civic/CRX, and similar vehicles.

Sure, 40 MPG is great - would be awesome if I could take my wallet with me though, is all I'm saying.

That said, I'd probably drive one.

Frank Lee · 08-22-2009, 01:56 AM

Smart is a city car. I think they'd be well suited to congested urban environments.

Out in the weeds, where most of my driving is highway, and parking spaces are huge, other options make more sense than Smart.

Christ · 08-22-2009, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Smart is a city car. I think they'd be well suited to congested urban environments.

Out in the weeds, where most of my driving is highway, and parking spaces are huge, other options make more sense than Smart.

I still tend to think that even for the city, there are better options, for sure. I just can't imagine myself standing in front of a universal car dealership, with the price of a new smart, just sitting there in my pocket, and I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO WORK FOR THE MONEY... I'd still not buy one. I'd probably get either a GEM or something similar, or a motor-bike.

I honestly just can't see burning liquid fuel in a city environment at all, excepting when you're doing so to enter or leave the city. I'd love to make my vehicles able to go 10 or 15 miles @ 30MPH without using gas, but still have the ability to go 60 MPH on the highway (serial hybrid, very small electric motor), so that when I just make a trip to the grocery store, I don't have to pollute my neighbor's air by starting Cara.

Frank Lee · 08-22-2009, 02:06 AM

I can't see standing in ANY dealership buying ANY new car. And batteries don't cut it for many of us.

Christ · 08-22-2009, 02:11 AM

Well, when I lived in NYC, there wasn't a point to even owning a car. And I didn't. I owned a battery powered "shoe scoot", which was basically a roller skate with RC car motors in it that strapped onto your shoe and was controlled with a hand control, that ran on 2 9V batteries in series (18V). Got me just about everywhere I needed to go, and garnered some pretty interesting looks, as well.