Smart Car MPG in the City

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by Peakster

I always thought that the Dodge Neon was an example of a car that looked cute and sold like hot-cakes. Even the Ford Tempo/Mercury Topazes might fit into that category too and they were everywhere in the 90s.

I don't know how they sell/sold, but I wouldn't say they're "girly", even if they are considered "cute" by some. I do know that I would rather drive something that looks "cool" rather than "girly" - all other things being the same.

[cfg83]

Arminius -

Originally Posted by Arminius

I don't know how they sell/sold, but I wouldn't say they're "girly", even if they are considered "cute" by some. I do know that I would rather drive something that looks "cool" rather than "girly" - all other things being the same.

I think the Neon was cute. It was even marketed that way (the "Hi" campaign).

Looking Back - Dodge Neon - Oct 7th 2005
http://www.autoblog.com/2005/10/07/l...ck-dodge-neon/

...
Before the Neon began its formative years, it spent a lot of time traveling with its parent company around the auto show circuit. The 1990 Dodge Neon Concept was a pleasant little sedan with an arched roofline and an open-top roof, as well as four doors that slid opened parallel to the car creating an appearance of four minivan-like sliding doors. It had two adorable round headlamps and four "bubble" wheels that made everyone go "Aww... that's cute."
...
The 1995 Dodge Neon had so much potential when it was introduced in 1994 with a simple "Hi." ...

At the near end-stage of product development, they deliberately kept the oval headlights, which were part of the original concept design :


(I see a proto-new-beetle roofline, but that's just me)

I think Lee Iacocca or some other mucky-muck made sure that the "cute" headlights stayed. It was a paper article, so I don't know where to find it. I wish the original concept had been more faithfully rendered in the real Neon (designed to be almost 100% recyclable), but the real Neon was a nice small car.

CarloSW2

[FishFish]

I had a smart car for a little over a year. My typical combined mileage was around 40mpg. My high for a tank was 46 in the summer on mostly flat highway. I didn't try any but the mildest of hypermiling techniques because I didn't want to confuse the servo-transimission (not accellerating to a stop sign). I think the smart with some aero mods could be a great MPG car. The thing isn't exactly aerodynamic.

I liked the car, but the family grew, so I traded it on a new Jetta sportwagen TDI.


Now, I commute in a 2007 corolla and am getting around 40 mpg with a few more hypermiling techniques. no mods yet.