[Sys1]

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006 ... 13102.html

Of course, i bet that everytime a hummer's driver will see this tiny car, he will become mad thinking how cheap it is to get from A to B.
But with a sadist smile, he will get over his situation by telling to himself "I could crush this fagot car with my huge hummer!"

[NeoPeasant]

I probably wouldn't mind driving one of these on a third world street I was sharing with bicycles, 90 cc motorcycles, and 3 wheel utility scooters. But when I think of driving one around here amidst ford excursions and double trailer 40 wheel gravel hauling trucks, taking the bus or using the sidewalk doesn't seem so bad.

[strider3700]

We've had them up here for a few years now and we've got just as many massive vehicles on the roads as you do. They're fine and far more visible in traffic then my motorcycle which is way better then a pedal bike.

My only concern is I've heard that the engines may not be very long lasting and the warranty on the drivetrain sucks for this reason. I've never looked into it though so that could be completely wrong.

[gnm]

I've seen one of those zipping around Albuquerque, NM. A blue one I think it was. Fellow peaker perhaps?

-G

[jimmyz]

can i have a plugin with that

[vision-master]

I'm ready, after all drive a motorcycle on the freeways, that's scary. I can see it now, right away people are going to demand automatic tranny's and A/C. Will America ever change?

[emersonbiggins]

Saw a black one in Austin the other day, days after coming home from a European vacation - very surreal...

The white Suburban next to it quickly snapped me back to reality.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('strider3700', '.')..
My only concern is I've heard that the engines may not be very long lasting and the warranty on the drivetrain sucks for this reason. I've never looked into it though so that could be completely wrong.

[kmann]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he smart vehicle is expected to be sold in
the U.S. starting in early 2008.

[gnm]

Whats the point. They are overpriced. 15K? for 40mpg? Screw that. I can beat that with a 20 year old honda CRX. Geeky neo-green feel good crap.

-G

[vision-master]

Huh? 40mpg? Heck I had an old 1984 Chevette Diesel that got 45mpg. Sold it with 225,000 miles on her. How about the 92 & 95 Geo Metro that could hit close to 60mpg in hot weather.

[RG73]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', 'W')hats the point. They are overpriced. 15K? for 40mpg? Screw that. I can beat that with a 20 year old honda CRX. Geeky neo-green feel good crap.

-G

[gnm]

Not according to this release...

AP news

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')mart will sell the next generation of its "fortwo" model, which has been popular in Europe. It gets an average of 40 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving and will sell for less than $15,000. The company says it can get up to 69 mpg on the highway.

[gg3]

A coworker of mine was behind one of these on the freeway the other day. He said he'd never seen one before but knew I was interested in small cars, so he tried to catch up to it to get the name.

Tried to catch up to it, as in, 80-something miles per hour.

*That* impressed the hell outta him. And he is tough to please. Makes me think these will catch on like crazy once they arrive here.

So coincidentally he pulled into the gas station and there it was again. He spoke with the owner, who apparently imported it himself via Mexico. Said it cost him about $12k when all was said & done, and it was legal in California.

I checked the Daimler/Chrysler web page. 50 mpg average, on the UK model, which is basically the same as the US model (plus or minus the driving position on the right, etc.).

Re. engine/drivetrain issues: If you over-rev any engine it won't last. What you want on that car is a tachometer, so you can keep the engine RPMs within optimal range at all times. And change the oil frequently.

BTW, I once rented a Chevy Geo Metro, the 3 cylinder hatchback version, and got 65 miles per gallon at 65 - 70 miles per hour freeway, with the air conditioning on. And I think it had automatic transmission too. That was a darn good and practical car; could seat 4 adults with reasonable legroom, carry a decent amount of cargo behind the rear seat (or 2 adults, fold down the rear seat, and have a nice big cargo area), and was more than comfortable enough for long-distance driving. So, what's it going to take to bug Chevy to bring that car back again, with those specs..?

Once the Smart starts selling, the fuel efficiency competition will be ON. VW has their Lupo which literally gets 100 mpg on diesel. Citroen has a similar model. There are a couple of others, and of course, Toyota's next version of the Prius, which is likely to be a PHEV.

[DigitalCubano]

Wonderful! Now all we need is smart drivers and we'll be golden!

[Gazzatrone]

Anyone else as confused as me with the title of the post?

HEHEHE!

It shouldn't take long to get it.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')TW, I once rented a Chevy Geo Metro, the 3 cylinder hatchback version, and got 65 miles per gallon at 65 - 70 miles per hour freeway, with the air conditioning on. And I think it had automatic transmission too. That was a darn good and practical car; could seat 4 adults with reasonable legroom, carry a decent amount of cargo behind the rear seat (or 2 adults, fold down the rear seat, and have a nice big cargo area), and was more than comfortable enough for long-distance driving. So, what's it going to take to bug Chevy to bring that car back again, with those specs..?

[azreal60]

Let me guess. You guys and girls are all below 5'10" in height? I HATED the metro, and for that reason alone. I doubt I would fit in the smart.

I want to be all eco freindly, but pretty much I'm stuck with large cars and trucks. Of course, my solution is simply to drive them that much less. I bet per year I still have better MPY than almost anyone who has a car on this site, simply because of how I set up my life.

[denverdave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', 'I') probably wouldn't mind driving one of these on a third world street I was sharing with bicycles, 90 cc motorcycles, and 3 wheel utility scooters. But when I think of driving one around here amidst ford excursions and double trailer 40 wheel gravel hauling trucks, taking the bus or using the sidewalk doesn't seem so bad.

[Faustus]

Smart cars aren't bad at all if your lifestyle is such that you're mostly commuting to work and either live out of the reach of mass transportation or live rurally and need a car to get to civilization every once in a while. I wouldn't be so sure about driving one through three feet of snow or anything, but it's not a bad deal for people who don't have a bunch of kids and just need something to get around occasionally. Bikes are better, but sometimes bikes aren't entirely feasible- in those cases, a Smart car would be good to have.

Another option would be to instutite two-tiered registration and car tax prices the way Japan has- if you have a regular, large-engine vehicle (called a "white plate"), you pay more. If you have a car with a smaller, less-powerful engine ("yellow plate"), the costs are considerably lower. I've got a yellow plate and have to drive a fair amount for work- I maybe spend twenty or thirty dollars on gas a week, and that's only if I have to drive to Kobe for something (about an hour each way). I don't use trains that much because they don't do me any good in terms of the work commute, so the public transportation aspect isn't as significant.