::: Looks over at retirement check that says “FORD” on it.:::
Speaking as a Ford retiree, you sir are the anti-Christ.
OK. Lets review our scenarios: My scenario of getting hit from behind by an SUV into a Semi is a real possibility. In a 20-mile stretch of road through a major city that scenario is almost guaranteed at some point.
Your rebuttal scenario: steam rollers, railroad trains, M1A1 tanks. Not only impossible, but a stupid argument. And I’m being kind when I say that.
And if you want to talk about rollovers then the Smart Car only has a 3 star passenger rating because the doors fly open. And in the event of a rollover, you have a plastic top that will provide no protection. There simply isn’t much metal to protect you.
So let’s look at what the insurance industry thinks:
**in an accident, “the laws of physics can’t be repealed,” said Russ Rader of the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Even with modern safety features like multiple air bags, people in small, light cars are always at a disadvantage in crashes.”
“ When a small, lightweight car collides with a big, heavy one, the crash forces are always higher for the people in the small car,” Rader said. “Small cars also have less crush space to dissipate crash energy.”**
Does common sense sound better when an expert says it? they were talking about normal small cars that have a little but of crush space. This is a micro-car with even less.
The car is a 4 wheel vehicle with a motorcycle engine bolted up to a crappy transmission that makes people sick. It would be a great car if you lived in a city and needed a golf cart with air conditioning and were willing to spend $17,000 for it. Since the name of this post is: What’s so smart About The "Smart Car, the answer is NOTHING. It does nothing well compared to similarly priced cars.
My Saturn:
- gets the same gas mileage,
- Has a larger crush zone front and back
- is not affected by high winds or passing trucks,
- cruises comfortably at any highway speed,
- has a better transmission,
- can carry 4 people,
- can tow a small trailer,
- can be towed by an RV without damaging the transmission
- can haul 10’ sections of pipe or wood,
- has a trunk big enough for family groceries,
- has dealerships all over the United States who can work on it.
~snerk~
Did you happen to notice that your quotes come for the same source I used that show that in objective tests, the Smart came out better than the Hummer?
~Snerk~
Look I agree with you that the Smart is a crappy car. I agree with you that your Saturn is a better car for you and probably me also.* What I disagree with is your
That is not a real world objective test. That is what a couple of stoned teenagers sitting around thinking up bad crashes would come up with. “Dude, wait what if the Smart got hit between a Hummer and an 18 wheeler. Dude the windshield wipers would come on and wash the blood off the windshield of the Hummer, that would be so rad.” :rolleyes:
Unless you have test data, it is not evidence, it is a scenario that you pulled out of your ass. If you want to continue using this scenario, go get an 18 wheeler, a Smart Car and three Hummers. After you sandwich the Smart, later rinse repeat with a Hummer in the middle. Report back. Then you would have data, not some off the wall, well gee maybe if the planets aligned right off the wall stupid scenario. See the difference?
As I showed above you might think that a small Volvo is not as safe as the great big Hummer, actual test results show that this ass-sumpton is incorrect. Same with the Smart.
As I said before when come back bring cite.
Actually by definition you Saturn is a shitbox.*
**Definition of a shitbox = anybody else’s car. 
This car fits your needs perfectly. Your wife isn’t competing with fast moving trucks/SUV’s and isn’t fighting the poor handling characteristics at highway speeds. She bought a cute car that is guaranteed to get attention and is safe for what she does with it.
I criticized the car based the on premise it would be used on US highways. I could only think of 1 place this car would be comfortable at and that would be Put-in-Bay. It’s an island with a tourist background that allows golf carts on the streets. This car would be queen of the road there. If I owned a restaurant I would have this car parked in front of it every day.
I’ve been to most of the major cities in the US. I live in a city that is smaller than the big cities such as LA or Chicago. We average close to an accident a day in 1 section of the highway and I drove by this for 15 years. Large trucks and small cars don’t mix well. I’ve seen many small cars with the rear bumper pushed almost to the rear window. There is no debate that 3 tons of vehicle (an SUV) will crush a Smart Car in a rear end collision at highway speeds. there is also no debate that highways are filled with SUV’s and 18 wheelers. I suppose a Smart Car is better than a Triumph Spitfire. A truck would go over the top of one of those (actually happened at the intersection I spoke of).
There’s less than 3 feet between the driver’s head and the back bumper. If it’s a tall truck it will go over the bumper where the space is now closer to 20 inches and that’s without any of the bumper to protect the passengers. I’m not trying to be a dick about this but the car has little crush space in the front or the rear. the only good thing is that it has stability control.
And it’s not like I think my car is anything special. I think of it as the most basic of grocery-getters.
I suspect that a rear end collision like what you just mentioned, the Smart would get punted like a football.
But without a test neither one of us knows who is right.
Well if it makes you feel any better I now have a Ford Sport Trac. But again this is a vehicle that I am always amazed at the reaction. It isn’t a truck and it isn’t an SUV or a car. If I wanted a truck I would have bought a truck, if I wanted a car I would have bought a car. But it meets my needs perfectly. I have a small pop up trailer that this pulls perfectly, on occasion I need a truck bed to haul something or other, etc. So it meets “my” needs. But the conversations I have had about this truck amaze me. Great, you wanted a truck so you bought one–great for you. This isn’t a truck, it is a hybrid that meets my needs. Then I have people complain that it drives like a truck, yes it isn’t a car, it is based on the Explorer.
Again car discussions are not rational. So I rarely engage in them.
HaHaHaHa… That made me laugh out loud. OK, we’ll go with that then. Football it is.
well I would agree with you–I would’nt drive this on the Freeway, but I also don’t drive my Miata on the Freeway. I feel like I don’t exist on there in my Miata–it is black, I live in Seattle and it rains all the time and it is a very small car. The Smart car I don’t believe that is a commuter car, but it does have several good uses. I live in the country and take the ferry into Seattle. In an urban situation I think it makes a lot of sense, for my specific use it makes sense. For driving on the freeway–not so much sense.
You got it.
Yah, That’s why I brought up the Spitfire. It makes a Miata look tall. I still remember the accident and it was in the 70’s. 2 people turned into smoking test dummies. Ughhh.
Parallel Parking one of these is, well different.
I saw one parked at Pike Place Market here in Seattle. now parking at the market itself is pretty hard to find but the Smart car was BACKED into the curb, rear wheels against the curb and the front end wasnt even poking out into the street.
You know what I see more often than any other thing? Flat SUVs. Right at the exit for the GWB on the Deegan, just after Yankee Stadium.
See. Don’t argue with the 18 wheeler. Because you will lose the rear 3/4 of your car.
Cutting off counts as arguing.
And I thought I established there is metal on the top of the Smart with the picture of the skeleton above.
To be honest, if you were to run a Hummer into a Smart into a 18 wheeler full of, say, kerosene fumes, you’d shred the front of the Smart, but the engine is below the driver, it woudn’t get pushed up into the compartment. You’d shred the rear of the Smart, the front of the Hummer, and the guy in the Hummer wouldn’t be getting off so well. Nor would the Smart driver, but Hummers aren’t any great things for driver safety. At highway speeds… I’m seeing the steering wheel into the driver’s chest, as a rough guess. Aren’t you happy now?
Actually, it performs prety amazingly in crash, both with a heavier car, and a concrete block at 70 mph. After the crash with the concrete wall at hwy speeds they could still open the door. pretty impressive for a car that small
As your videographer admits, the rigidity of the car’s shell means that almost all the forces of the crash are transfered to the driver. In the concrete wall test, the car is literally lifted into the air, and then crashes to the ground. The unfortunate driver would endure both slamming against a wall and falling off a cliff. Sharp, broken debris flies everywhere. Material is flung from the inside of the car. There is no test dummy inside, but if there were, it is entirely possible that its head would have shot out as if from a cannon. The whole point of a longer hood with a more flexible cage is so that the car can absorb a lot of the energy before it reaches the driver.
It’s amazing nobody linked to that earlier 
I owned a Spit. If you look out the window while passing a truck you know what you see?
Goodyear, Goodyear, Goodyear, Goodyear, Goodyear, Goodyear, Goodyear,
Your eyes are just about even with the top of the semi tire.
I got some marketing junk on the new Smart thru the post today and strangely enough they specifically mention what goes on during rear impact.
So, yup, punted like a football is about right. I also found this cute interactive advert: http://www.truthaboutsmart.co.uk/
Sure, but at that speed your pretty much toast in any case. For it’s size, it does quite well, but in a high speed collision you would probably be better off in grandma’s buick. For a commuter at more in town speeds it’s pretty safe.