More Smart car publicity
 

Had an article on the smart car today in the local paper. Man When I first saw these I really wanted one. Now the more that comes out the less I like em. They have really ruined the US version. According to this article EPA is 33/41 with premium gas. That's total unacceptable in my book even if it is 12,000. Diesel would of been so easy:(

It's really too bad that manufacturers aren't even willing to special order diesels for customers on cars that are offered in Europe with diesel engines. I know it's because they feel it won't sell here and don't want to risk it (most likely) but if they just did the whole "diesel engine option" I think they would realize it may be more popular then they think, especially if people saw that they got 70mpg.

Hello -

I am also guessing that the Diesel option would not be USA emissions legal (yet). If they only offered a true manual tranny, I think we would be off and running.

Here's a question. I used to think that you could import "boutique" cars, aka cars in volumes less than "X" 1000, and be able to bypass some US crash/emissions laws. Is that still true? If yes, then maybe Smart Diesels could have a unit volume sales limit.

CarloSW2

I saw a couple in a smart convertible with the top down at a stop sign out in western central jersey last weekend. They were both smiling wildly, but i guess it had nothing to do with their gas mileage.

I don't understand why the smart's 3 cylinder diesel power-plant would not pass emissions. VW's diesel engines in Golfs and Jettas are much larger and they seem to be fine.

vw temporarily discontinued the tdi for that exact reason, they wouldn't pass the new regulations. Their catalysts will be improved, and capable of dealing with low sulfur fuel. :)

when I've read articals about test drives of vehicles like the lupo, they said that the only fuel that they would run on that you could get in the US was bio-diesel, because even our new low sulpher diesel fuel is to dirty for their catolitic converters, simaler to how you can't sell an amarican made car in China or more other countries because the're MPG standards are to high.

All I can say is if they bring the Smart Roadster to the US, I'll have to break my vow to never buy cars new.

We really need to look at how we view fuels too.

Neither Bio-diesel or straight vegatable oil have any sulpher in them.

Ethanol burns very clean (just make it from something other than corn)


There are all sorts of diesel generators around that seem to be exempt from laws. I have heard that lawm mowers pollute more than cars because they are cheaply made and have no emmissions controls.

wowsers. :confused:

Funny you should mention that.

My (former) US Senator Kit Bond was the one that spearheaded the effort in congress to kill the new emissions controls on small engines. It basically would have put cat converters on most all mowers, cultivators, stuff like that. (there are still new EPA regs being considered though)

But, like I said, he spearheaded the effort against the new regs at the behest of his constituents who worked at the big Briggs & Stratton factory in Rolla, MO.

A few weeks later Briggs & Stratton returned the favor by shutting down the Rolla factory and moving their operations to China.