New Smart Cars

[CRCRFT78]

Real life Micro Machines

[LowBuckX]

There are a bunch of the Smart cars running around here Im waiting for them to start with the customizing.. They look stupid stock

[sik68]

The bay area is infested with those little things.

[Rick Dorion]

I see them too. But you can't defy e=mc squared.

[TPI Monte SS]

I parked next to one with my wife's Jeep Liberty and took a pic. The Libby is not a big truck, and it dwarfs the Smart car!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/0720081546-1.jpg

[rob07002]

Very practical here in Jersey. I just look in horror as these things ride along, behind, and in front of 18 wheelers doing 80+ on the turnpike.

Really taking a chance of dying in my opinion.

[TPI Monte SS]

Very practical here in Jersey. I just look in horror as these things ride along, behind, and in front of 18 wheelers doing 80+ on the turnpike.

Really taking a chance of dying in my opinion.

Agreed. Maybe they're practical if you live in a city with tight parking issues, but to drive one on a major highway at rush hour is like a suicide mission IMO. I know they've got "decent" protection - search YouTube for Smart Car Crash Tests - but I still wouldn't want to drive one on a highway! And, their mpg isn't that great either; they only get mid 20's if that. My mom's CRV gets the same mileage and has three times the space inside!

[Norm Peterson]

I just look in horror as these things ride along, behind, and in front of 18 wheelers doing 80+ on the turnpike.

Really taking a chance of dying in my opinion.
Agreed. Anything that requires stability control to prevent rollover has no business being driven at that sort of speed. Doesn't matter how good the other safety features and the passenger cell integrity are.

Have to ask either my son or S.I.L. if they've seen any in their travels (both currently drive commercially with CDL-A).


Stability

This is the big one. Many observers think the outhouse-tall, short-wheelbase Smart looks tippy. In development, it did fail the famous European "moose test" that requires a car to stay upright through a high-speed swerve. . . .

. . . How about cornering stability?

Working for the Smart is a Mercedes-derived anti-skid system added after the moose test to automatically brake individual wheels and help keep the car on the intended path. . . .

. . . the Smart was quick to spin out in our recent Traction 2006 comparison test at the Ottodrome racetrack ("Getting Slideways," Feb. 17). On the street, however, the stability control did its job -- though its intercessions can be rude. On especially sloppy days, we skittered a lot.


Linky. (http://driving.canada.com/research/viewroadtest.spy?artid=57530)


Norm

[HarleyR]

City or not in this country your never far away from a F350... Excursion 74 caddy Eldo..... Those are uncommon in Europe... Theres more to life than gas milage and being able to park close...

[toxicz28]

Theres more to life than gas milage and being able to park close...

They weren't designed to get great gas mileage, more for navigating the narrow roads of Europe.

[BaddestBuick]

Everytime I see 1 of those on the road I laugh, id never drive one of those little $#&*

[shmoov69]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhCug8Jqzz8&feature=related

This is still my favorite one.... The rest are just GaaY! LOL

[JohnLClark]

I am waiting to buy one with a blown engine, then swap it out for a Suzuki GSXR 1100 engine. I've seen videos of Smarts that have had the swap done and the cars look like they are fast. 0-60 is around 4.5 seconds. If 160 hp isn't enough, you can turbo the engine for around 300hp. I like to drive that one.

[absintheisfun]

um....gas mileage?

I watched a special on them (it was more against them, rather than for them), but the newscaster was quick to point out that a Nissan Versa got more MPG, and was cheaper than the smart cars...

These are nothing more than the next evolutionary jump in "status vehicles"

Status Vehicle Evolutionary Chain:

Cadillac

Mercedes

BMW

SUV

Prius

SMART cars

future...volt?

[dannyho]

I came across this in an email a little while back. Gotta love photoshop
behold the Smorsche 911, Smorsche Targa, Smorborhini, Smerrari, and the Smaudi A3 4x4

[CRCRFT78]

Got the same email but was only able to post the Corvette. Too bad we couldn't buy smart cars designed after our favorite muscle/supercar. Thanks for posting the other pics.

[justanova]

um....gas mileage?

I watched a special on them (it was more against them, rather than for them), but the newscaster was quick to point out that a Nissan Versa got more MPG, and was cheaper than the smart cars...

These are nothing more than the next evolutionary jump in "status vehicles"

Status Vehicle Evolutionary Chain:

Cadillac

Mercedes

BMW

SUV

Prius

SMART cars

future...volt?


I say if your going to drive something small(for tight parking) and get good gas mileage you might as well drive a motorcycle. at least it would be fun to drive. I have a 2006 bmw k1200r and a 2008 suzuki hayabusa and even when riding them hard on twisty mountain roads i still get 40+ mpg.

[mach1stang]

Man every time I think of me in a smart car... well an ape on a power wheels comes to mind.

[TonyHuntimer]

Looks like a pretty safe car to me. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU&NR=1

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[paul67]

What they did say was that the car survied but you would not ,as your insides would be smashed up due to the sudden stop.

[Norm Peterson]

Looks like a pretty safe car to me. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU&NR=1

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com
The passenger cell is absolutely deserving of respect - I'm guessing the 70 mph angled-barrier crash decelerations averaged upwards of 80g, the passenger door remained fully operational, and even the driver's door could be opened. Although I'm pretty sure that some sort of high strength steel is involved in the Smart, there still ought to be a few details of construction that folks here could use to advantage in stiffening their chassis without excessively encroaching on outward vision and/or entry and exit or requiring exotic materials and fabrication techniques.

But I'm a lot less happy about the ratio of CG height to wheelbase particularly when occupied (duh), as that contributes significantly to the car's pitch behavior. Wheels off the ground = no energy dissipated and no velocity lost during that time, while you simply wait to hit something else.

There isn't much you can do about the low mass moments of inertia, which is mostly why in the comparative test vs the Fusion the Smart rotates about the vertical axis about twice as fast and why the pitch motions in the barrier crashes are unusually violent. Yaw and pitch accelerations cause injury too.


Norm