Sure some, especially urbanites, will enjoy the Smart car and after all in this global world many Americans have seen them around Europe for ages. I could see myself in one except for the fact that current hybrids do it better and that I have 4 kids. But if you want energy efficient then this is what a design focused for aerodynamics will look like. And despite the fact that it gets a 120 mile range in its all electric version and will be available in a range extending hybrid version that will still get 130 mpg at its worst while having a 40 mile range in all-electric and in which it can travel for many hundreds of miles between fill ups, I just don’t see to many people being secure enough to drive one. Not me anyway.
Your link doesn’t work for me, but I can’t imagine not buying a car because of how it looks.
The 4 kids thing would affect one’s buying decision, obviously. But I am a baby boomer, and my kids are either out of the house, or close to it. Maybe that will drive Detroit into considering me as a market - people who are old (like me), cheap (like me), rarely need much cargo capacity (like me), and usually drive with < 3 people in the car (like me) and own another vehicle for times when I need more. But I wonder if they are capable of that kind of flexibility in their thinking. Like Johnny L.A and ralph124c said, they seem to have this death wish. Gas prices go up while they’re pushing SUVs.
Suppose I am a top executive at GM or something, and I come to the executive board and say, “Look, boys, the Japanese are eating our lunch, the planet is heating up, and we need to come out with a line of very small, ultra-efficient cars.”
What do you suppose are going to be their objections?
Regards,
Shodan
‘Dude, that it so Seventies!’
Anyone who drives their child to school cannot own a 2-seat car in Canada, because in Canada the cars have passenger airbags, and you can’t get a disconnect switch installed. So right there, you’re forcing anyone with even one school-age child into a 4-seat car. And a coupe is a pain to get in and out of, so that pushes people into sedans.
But there are many reasons why Europeans drive smaller cars than North Americans, and only one of them is gas mileage. Another is lack of parking space and garage space. European also have to deal with narrow roads. I remember a Top Gear episode where a Ford GT actually caused a traffic jam when it wound up on a road that was too narrow for it to drive on.
So congestion is high, the road infrastructure is narrow, and travel distances aren’t far. All of that weighs in favor of a smaller car.
In North America, the road system is huge. Roads are wide, travel distances are far, people have large, wide garages because they can. Because there are so many miles of roads, they tend to be not maintained as well as in some European areas, and therefore the cars need to be stronger and heavier. Short wheelbases make for a choppier ride, and this has more importance when you’re driving on bad roads for 500 miles than when you’re driving on good roads for 20.
North Americans also tend to be larger people than Europeans.
So many, many factors push North Americans into larger cars. That’s not going to change soon. You’ll see changes around the margins - next year I expect to see the raio of sales of smaller, more efficient cars to bigger, less efficient cars change slightly in favor of the smaller cars. It’s about like the difference between Canada and the U.S. Gas is much more expensive in Canada, and so if you look at the 10 best selling vehicles in Canada you’ll see a couple of small cars make the list that don’t make the list in the U.S. And in general, if you drive around Canadian roads you’ll see a slightly higher proportion of smaller cars. But our roads are still dominated by big sedans, wagons, and SUVs. That’s not going to change.
What you will see is more of a move towards more effienctly-packaged vehicles. I drive a Ford Escape. It’s a great truck. It’s an ‘SUV’, but it only weighs 3500 lbs (with a V6 and AWD, 3300 for the I4 version), it gets decent gas mileage, and its got a shorter wheelbase than a large sedan so it’s easy to manoever and park. You see a LOT of these kinds of vehicles on the road here in Canada, and IMO these types of vehicles are the real winners of the gas price hike in North America. You’ll see fewer Suburbans and other large SUVs, and more small SUVs and crossover wagons.
You won’t see a mass migration into tiny econo-boxes. They just don’t make as much sense in the North American market.
http://www.dancewithshadows.com/auto/mercedes-benz-bionic-car-gallery.asp
I think it may look more like this than the Aptera.
He doesn’t live in New Jersey :rolleyes:
Where do they live? Here is a state by state review that I think is up to date. 13 states use the 8 yo cut-off for boosters and another 4 states use 7 yo. The remainder mostly use 6 yo. I am fairly sure that most states allow for a child in the front seat if there is no back seat in the vehicle.
E-Sabbath now I could see myself in that! But 70 mpg is still shabby compared to the 130 mpg that the Aptera gets in its gas mode. Especially when considering that the Aptera is using gas not diesel. Then again the Mercedes-Benz Boxfish bionic inspired vehicle can carry four, not two and a car-seat. And the Cd isn’t too different: 0.11 for the Aptera and 0.19 for the Mercedes.
So what I want is the Mercedes Boxfish design body with a Range extending hybrid EV inside!
Another person here hopping on Shodan’s wagon.
Our 1995 Ford Aspire just rolled past 200,000 miles. (I actually crashed my first one (the 1994) at about 40 MPH when somebody pulled out in front of me; the engine was still running after the crash, and I got a tiny scratch on one hand. It was totaled only because the cost of replacing the airbags was too high compared to the value of the car.) It gets close to 50 MPG. It has run over deer (as in, rolled over their bodies) twice and kept on going. It has only a 1.3L engine, so it didn’t do so well in the Black Hills or the Rockies, but here in WI it handles most hills well enough. The front-wheel drive and manual transmission gives it enough oomph to get through heavy snow (and our road is usually one of the last in the county to be plowed). Cost was about $9,000.
Why oh why does no one remember that it’s possible to build a high-mileage car that’s not a hybrid? All I want is four wheels and a seat. Manual transmission is preferred, and I don’t want power anything. Cruise and air are nice but not mandatory. I could give two shits about anything else. But I want decent mileage, dammit! It really cranks me when I see 30 MPG being touted as great mileage. Hell, my minivan almost gets that!!
It’ll be a sad day when my Aspire bites the dust.
They live in Mississippi, but the site has no information whatsoever about whether it’s illegal for them to sit in the front or not, which was the whole point of the argument. I say that I’d never heard of this before, and people try to make me look foolish by saying that it’s illegal, when it isn’t in fact illegal everywhere. It’s funny how Tristan, tried to tell me that we were breaking the law, citing New Jersey Law, when neither he, myself, nor my nephew live in New Jersey.
I saw one yesterday (parked) in Canada - and I want one.
98% of the time, I’m the only person in my car; I don’t haul things that often (and when I do, I can borrow something). I don’t need that much storage space.
If the car can go over hills - it would be perfect for me.
I guess a ‘Reliable’ personality would be good. Don’t want a car with emotional problems. :snerk: Yep. I buy what is most practical for me and my family. That’s it.
Happens to be a large mid-sized SUV. If a smaller car would work, I’d buy it.
Almost everyone who can afford them now, I think. $4.00/gallon is only about 20% more than current prices. If they drive a 20-mpg vehicle 1,000 miles a month, gas price increase from $3.30 to $4.00 is only $40 extra per month.
I think everyone knows that they can save gas by driving keeping your speed below 55 mph, accelerating more gently, etc. But when gas prices went from $2.something to over $3, did you notice anyone start doing that? I sure haven’t. That’s how little people really care about money spent on gas.