endurance -
While I understand your argument, I don't think it makes sense economically. For lack of a better term I think we are the "1 percenters", hence we are a niche market. If I am an auto manufacturer, I would look to modifying an existing platform into an "XFE" or an "ECO". That means inheriting a lot of the safety stuff that increases weight.
Also, it's not clear to me that Smart cars have been a success in the USA :
Four-door Smart car coming to the U.S.
Quote:
The Smart brand has long been a money-loser for Daimler, and the brand's 2008 entry into the U.S. market has resulted in disappointing sales.
Despite fuel economy of over 40 miles per gallon on the highway, Smart sales peaked early, then plunged. So far in 2010, sales are running more than 60% below 2009, which was one of the worst years for sales in the auto industry.
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On the other hand, I posted that the Cruze ECO has shed 200 lbs. Yes, that's not a lot, but if the ECO Cruze gets the same crash ratings as the Cruze "Regular", then it would make sense to migrate the ECO weight $aving$ across the platform because reducing variation lowers costs.
CarloSW2