"SMART car"

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Anyone seen one of these on the road? www.smart.com A 2 seater with a turbocharged I3 diesel engine. Rated at 4.2L/100km combined driving which works out to about 56 miles per US gallon. I talked to a local guy who recently bought one and he's getting 75mpg on the hiway! I'd buy something like this if I had a long commute to work.
 
The person I talked to here locally told me hers was a 3 cylinder gaser. She said she gets over 70mpg.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5217861/


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YA they are all over the place around here.Local NAPA dealer has one for delivery.You want to see something amusing ,picture that thing painted blue and yellow Napa colors ,with a big baseball-hat on top.Too small for me and they are a pain on the highway...take wayyy too long to get up to speed.
 
Since all of you guys are up north I guess that explains why you're seeing them daily. I had dinner saturday night with a Mercedes-Benz representative and we discussed the bringing of the Smart to the USA and I also got to poke around in his Mercedes "B" class that he is putting some miles on for USA testing. He is telling me that the Smart is a definite arrival to the USA but in a slightly different variance to what is available elsewhere. So hopefully the city dwellers here will get a chance to see if they truly are a viable alternative to the commuting nightmare that all major metro areas are suffering from.

As for the "B" class,,, it looks a lot like a BMW 3-series SUV (X3) except with automobile ride quality attributes. For my personal use I'd prefer the A-class but for a family of four I can see where the added room would be necessary.

Only time will tell what the corporate chiefs determine to be the money makers and what they will ultimately approve for release down here in the USA. Much to my dismay, the idea of a diesel option in the 'B' class for the USA was not being considered at this time.
 
I see one almost every day here in Toronto. My understanding was that they were originally slated to go onsale this summer in the US, in the ForFour version (we just have the ForTwo here). I heard this recently in the context of why you can't get the 4seater in Canada yet.

When MB originally had demo models here the projected the base price at around $23K CDN. I guess they figured out that no sane person would pay that, so it was introduced at just under $17K CDN. However, if you just want a car as basic, fuel efficient reliable transportation, I have no idea why anyone would take this gimmick over a Toyota Echo at 20% less.

I don't like the Echo or Toyota's much for that matter. I had a Corolla and it drove like a pig. The suspension was made of wet noodles and felt like it would roll on a gentle corner. But the Echo's fuel effiency ratings are barely above the Smart, plus it is a true 4 seater (maybe 5). It is not much bigger but much more practical I would suggest much safer.

I am not a "I only feel safe in a big car." nut and I find that a 2800 pound car with a 94 inch wheelbase is a great size. But I would feel exposed in a Smart, based on the tippy height, tiny tires and zero margin in terms of cabin intrusion.

I have sat in one but not driven it. As a design it is very clever. But it is a car that is capabe of 70mph highway speeds, and I shudder to think of how it would fare in emergency braking (slide on skinny tires then flip) or getting hit. I pass these things doing 70 at least once a week on a road where I was hit by flatbed truck in March. I was hit twice at 70mph, spun across three lanes of traffic and hit the concrete median. Ten seconds later I had my laptop out and was taking notes. Not a scratch, not even shaken up.

That was in a Porsche, not a big 5000 pound lincoln. You can make a strong ssafe small car.

In a Smart car I would have been crushed, flipped, rolled and dead in less than 5 seconds. I might have survived in an Echo. Might.

As an aside, I have drive the Mercedes A series in Europe (it's very popular with rental agencies) and was astonished at how good it was.) Was really surprised that it would easily handle 85-90 mph speed with a 1.3 Diesel. It is more directly comparable to something like the Echo
 
Great mpg is fine, but driving on a public highway with so many large pickups and SUV's along with impared or distracted drivers ... no thanks.
 
I've seen a couple in the US. One in santa cruz (with California plates) another on a car carrier in Marin. Zap is the only company that markets a federalized version in the US out of Santa Rosa Califonia. They can only sell gas version for $20k+. You really have to want one.
http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp

The only way mercedes could make a profit on the B class is by producing it in the US. Kind of like what they are doing with the Sprinter from kits. Otherwise the exchange rate just doesn't make sense.
 
The one I saw was coloured black. If I had to drive one, I'd paint it with the reflective kind of paint they use to make the white lines at the sides of the road. It looks good for crowded city driving.
 
I probably couldnt fit one leg or a butt cheek in that thing. No matter how high gas prices get, I would much rather sacrifice fuel mileage than my life or limbs.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn:
Anymore Smart-Car sightings?

I saw lots of them in Greece in April, even the Smart sports car which looks like a real car. I didn't recognize it as a Smart until I saw the name plate.

For US scale roads and parking, I think you get 90% of the advantages of the Smart with 10% of the disadvantages with something like a Honda Fit. Now, if only we could get a turbo diesel Fit.
 
Dang, and I thought my Hyundai Accent, even WITH the airbags, side airbags, and curtain airbags was risky.

This little toy-box? Around all the SUVs driven by psycho-cellphone using drivers?
 
I live in Michigan not too far from Canada and I have seen a few running around on Canadian plates. I also got to sit in one last Nov. and if I can fit in it (over 6 feet tall, 300ish pounds) anybody can. They are very cool.
 
This thing did not intend to be an open road king. This is great around town grocery getter, but at that price?
I'd skip.
 
The federal govt. uses a bunch of them for building-to-building communting on Federal campuses in Ottawa.

There are also quite a few on the streets of Ottawa....I see one at least every couple of days.....
 
There's a few around here. I even noticed one with Budget rental car stickers on the back the other day. Due to price and safety issues, and the 20 second 0-60 time, they're not on my list of things I might buy someday. I'd certainly like to take one for a drive though.
 
quote:

Originally posted by rpn453:
There's a few around here. I even noticed one with Budget rental car stickers on the back the other day. Due to price and safety issues, and the 20 second 0-60 time, they're not on my list of things I might buy someday. I'd certainly like to take one for a drive though.

You might be interested in this one:

GSXR Smart
 
I read somewhere that Mercedes was losing money hand over fist on these things and that was before the price cuts.

I would never be in one of these on the same roads with Expy's, 'Burb's, etc.
 
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