# Non-American Dopers- What's your ride? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130 "2004-09-26T04:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/41 "2004-09-30T13:22:19Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > I’ll describe it: > > 2 seater, rear wheel drive. > Rear engine > turbocharged, producing approx 120 HP per litre > Electronic traction control and ABS > 6 speed tiptronic transmission > fly by wire throttle. > > So what could it be? Porche? Ferarri? Lamborghini? > > Nope, it’s a [Smart](http://www.thesmart.co.uk/index.html) Not to be overly cautious, but while the Smart is obviously high tech and (assumedly) very gas efficient, what kind of protection does that car offer in an accident. It just seems so incredibly tiny. Is it reasonably safe? ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/42 "2004-09-30T14:40:29Z")
The European NCAP summary is [here](http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/details.php?id1=1&id2=29). Anecdotally, I met a woman who had a major crash in one. Both the police and insurance people who saw the car said that in any other car of that size the crash would have been fatal. She walked away with cracked ribs. There’s a lot of room in them too, I’m 6’ 5" and have head room to spare. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/43 "2004-09-30T15:13:55Z")
[It’s five hundred feet long and blue.](http://www.metrodemontreal.com/) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/44 "2004-09-30T15:38:41Z")
I don’t have a car, but when I’m home my mother let’s me drive her 4 year old Fiat Punto. It’s a nippy little Italian car, and seats 5… it’s a small car by US standards, but it can do a lot of miles per tank of petrol, so it’s cheap to run. It looks like this car, but not as pimped up: [http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/515218](http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/515218) My dad drives an 8 year old Audi A6, which, like all my dad’s cars, was bought second hand, and has been driven into the ground. This one is on it’s last legs, engine wise, but still looks like the beautiful piece of German engineering it is. It looks like this car: [http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/363067](http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/363067) ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/45 "2004-09-30T20:40:55Z")
Used to drive one of [these](http://www.team.net/www/rootes/sunbeam/alpine/mk1-5/images/tr66s5a.jpg) (in “British rusting green”) - I want another, or a Tiger, I miss having a rag-top ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130.md?page=2)