76 Replies to “Smart Car”

  1. “I’m bored now” Boy. For somebody bored,as Foghorn Leghorn would say “I see your lips flappin’ but I don’t hear any noise.” If you’re really that bored,go STAND in traffic and get back to me on why your body flipping through the air damaged the vehicle.

  2. That piece of wreckage is indeed ‘a work of art’. Any hi-brow prestigious art gallery would be clamouring to have it featured. I mean, it really speaks of the dichotomy of man and machine. :D)

  3. The reason why most people drive smart cars has nothing to do with being a subservient lefty. It has to do with the sheer lack of space, both driving and parking, in large cities.
    Besides, it’s not like there’s a shortage of city people…

  4. If you drive a smaller vehicle or a motorcycle you have no such padding so you have to prevent the accident, by taking advantage of the quick steering of your vehicle.
    Notice how wide the paved shoulder is, it is practically another lane. The Smart car driver could have avoided the accident if he had been alert enough to realize that a collision was imminent and flicked the wheel in an emergency lane change maneuver. In any case, taking the ditch is preferable to a head-on collision.
    Yup, it used to be sabre-tooth tigers and large bears that weeded out the less agile and mentally unfit. Now it’s sparring in traffic with bumper cars.

  5. I had one of those smart cars, compering it to a truck that cost twice as much and three or four times more to operate is just silly. If I would have a choice to drive a Neon, Sunfire or a smart I still would take a smart. The biggest drawback with the smart is that most people think that you as the driver of such a car are actually dumb enough to believe what that Suzuki guy has to say.
    These days I drive a 3500 dually, if there is such a thing as CO2 induced global warming I like to play my part in making Canada a warmer and nicer place to live and just in case someone with there 1500 tin can truck gets in the way 🙂

  7. cgh, usually you makes sense, this time you missed the effing boat. Up here out of the city, by 1 hr drive, there are lots of “smart” cars, driven by dumb lefties. Also, as others have pointed out, I used to drive my Dodge 2500 X cab with 8 foot box and 5 inch factory lifts rite down town Toronto and have no problem with traffic or parking. (qualifier: when 18 I used to drive a 5 ton delivery truck down there). And as to “bikes”, 50 years experience, and yes, maneuverability is a large factor, for those of us who can drive one .
    Smart car owners are mostly about “environment” and them doing their lefty part for it, at least here in Canada.

  8. When I was last in Rome a few years ago there were thousands of these tiny cars. Inside the city there are very few large vehicles with which to collide, and those 2,000 year old streets are so narrow that tiny cars make a great deal of sense.
    In Canada they make no sense at all, even in our largest cities.

  9. Yes, Jon, continue to overlook basic physics and inertia.
    I’m sure that the smug sammart car driver is feeling all warm and tingly with your assertion.

  11. It is a commonly held belief that 2 cars colliding head on at 60 mph has the effect of a 120 mph crash. i was stunned to find this was as true as Al Gore’s inconvenient movie. Mythbusters did a large segment on this. They crashed a car into a wall at I believe 60 mph, then 2 of the same cars into each other each at 60 mph. The effect was the same as the single vehicle crash. Then they crashed then same type into the wall at 120 mph. Watch and you will never again believe the statement in the first sentence again.
    That said, Smart is obviously dangerous when crashed into a seriously larger vehicle, but designed to be significantly safer than a Chevette.

  13. No trunk, only 1 passenger, poor handling around corners, can flip from turning or braking too sharply, unsafe in accidents, low top speed (90mph), slow acceleration, really stupid looking, freeway driving is dangerous, lacks durability and versatility.
    Its only plausible function is as a commuter vehicle and only during perfect weather conditions, if you weigh less than 150 pounds, don’t have children or friends and never need to move or carry anything.
    On the bright side, it allows you to non verbally remind everyone how much more you care about the environment than they do.
    In a smart car, this can be referred to as snug and smug.

  15. Well, right now I drive a Mini when I can wrest the steering wheel away from my GF. In the city of Toronto, there are only a handful of roads where the legal limit is 70 km/h (not including DVP/Gardiner/401/Allen expressways). So, I’m not too worried about a possible 150 km/h impact speed. And I do appreciate the superior mileage, maneuverability, ability to park, and sheer fun of driving it!
    However, I do drive it on the highway from time to time (in fact, last October, we drove it from Toronto to Portland ME – going through the White Mountain Forest with the trees changing and the top down was glorious!). When I do, I am very mindful of the fact that in a collision with almost anything besides a coffee cup, I’ll probably come out second best, and I drive accordingly. On two lane highways outside of the city – where the pictured crash occurred – I am always concerned about the possibility of a head-on, and cheat towards the right-hand side of the road.
    Now for some arithmetic. At 70km/h, you’re both moving at almost 20 m/s. Old guy driving the van slips into into a diabetic coma, and cuts into your lane. If he does this 2/10ths of a second before the fronts of your cars meet, he’d be 8 metres in front of you when the coma hit. Since normal human reaction time is on the order 200 milliseconds – or, 2/10ths of a second – that means you have to be 1) at least normal in your reactions, 2) paying enough attention (i.e. not glancing at the speedo, your rearview mirror, the radio) to notice the car coming, and 3) a good enough driver that you instantly brake and steer away from it. Most of us don’t qualify.
    Finally, from the details, it appears that the van hit the car head-on, but the car took a blow at an angle. That alone would account for the greater destruction of the hit vehicle, since many of its protective features are designed for head-on, as opposed to angular, collisions.

  16. What about maneuverability, then the ability of keeping the car on the pavement after the maneuver.
    A tuned suspension can save your life.

  17. “but designed to be significantly safer than a Chevette”
    butt a chevette is more stable and maneuverable, so safer with an attentive/good driver. Also a chevette is much more practical than smarty!
    KevinB…right side damage to both vehicles, swerve to left by driver of “joke-mobile” would have improved his chances at less to no damage. Most ppl don’t drive, they just aim and hope for the best.

  18. “…break and steer away from it.”
    I would demur. Most driving schools teach steer first to avoid the collision, THEN break. All breaking first gets one is skidding into the collision as one is locked into the forward momentum/direction one was previously driving without any ability to rapidly change direction..

  19. Holy misconceptions Batman!
    No, there is no trunk per se, but there is a storage area behind the seats.. I seen a person load up one 65l beer keg and 2 20l beer kegs in that area..
    No, they don’t tip over going around corners or braking, (they have stability control)they are a little wobbly standard, but one or two of the handling kits out there completely change the car..
    Low top speed of 90mph is far faster than legal anywhere in the country, several speeding tickets can attest to that..
    I weigh 230 lbs and have no problem fitting in mine.. I carried a passenger for a couple of years while car pooling, enough room for us and all our daily items.
    Yes, it is a commuter car, that’s its purpose, but they are surprising in what they can do, outside of that realm. I have a truck, when I need to carry more than the car does, I have a SUV 4×4 for when I want to go off roading..
    I have had my smart now, for almost 10 years, it’s 100% better in the winter than my 2wd truck ever was, as long as the snow isn’t over a foot deep! If its really bad out I’ll take the suv, but in ten years of commuting to Calgary everyday (50km round trip) there hasn’t been much more than a week a year I don’t drive the car. Ive been all over the province in it, in all kinds of weather.
    I am as far from a liberal as you can get, the environment was not the reason I chose the car,although it is a side benefit. I can park anywhere, maneuver around with aplomb and the best part is $400 a year in fuel costs, over $2500/yr difference from driving my truck to work everyday!
    The best way not to get in an accident is to avoid one in the first place. I personally don’t understand the paranoia these people who drive around in massive vehicles with only one person inside, with all kinds of guards, bars, lift kits and huge tires etc, that have never been off road ever, must feel.
    Is it that bad on the roads out there? Look at all the people who die on the road up to Ft Mac, its cars, trucks and yes, even semi truck drivers die in accidents too. You can be killed in so many ways, doing so many things, if your that afraid, Don’t leave the house! But be careful at home, you could die in a house fire, drown in your bathtub, choke to death on a meal etc. etc..
    To each, their own!

  20. cgh said: “The reason why most people drive smart cars has nothing to do with being a subservient lefty. It has to do with the sheer lack of space, both driving and parking, in large cities.”
    I drive my F-250 in Toronto traffic by choice. Its the crew cab, long box version. I measured a Smart Car once, it will fit in the bed. I do have smaller vehicles I could be driving, but I chose the F-250 for downtown traffic because of the utter stupidity I see on display every time I go downtown.
    Between the pedestrians, the cabs and the TTC goofs, a small car is a death trap. By contrast, nobody screws with the truck. Not even buses. Parking is never an issue. I always find a spot that will take the yacht. Possibly I’m better than average at close quarters maneuvering, but then practice makes perfect.
    When I’m in Phoenix, I keep an ancient F-350 crew cab as a runabout. Same reason, nobody screws with that truck. Its huge, its old and ugly, and it the heaviest non-commercial vehicle ever made. If some texting moron rear-ends it going 70mph in a Toyota, I’ll survive.
    Having driven in Manhattan traffic, the smallest vehicle I’d willingly drive there is a full sized pickup. By preference my F-350 crew cab from Phoenix with added nerf bars and the Bumpers Of Doom on it. Teeth in the grille would be good. And skulls. Lots of skulls. Its better to be big and menacing in NYC than just big. If your truck looks like you just don’t care about body damage, they will stay away from you.
    The Big F-ing Truck makes the difference between an uneventful, reasonable drive and a hair-pulling series of close calls with turkeys cutting you off every minute. All cities, all the same.
    Smart Cars are a scam and a death trap. I blow diesel exhaust in their windows whenever I get the chance.

  21. Tim and Texas Canuck, there was a case in England where a woman
    in a smart car was killed in a collision with a motorcycle. The
    rider of bike lived, but was badly injured.
    When it comes motor vehicle collisions, it is all about mass.
    If anyone tells you that he would rather be in a Smart Car than
    a 1968 Chrysler Imperial in a head on collision, you know you
    are dealing with a scientifically illiterate moron.
    No amount of air bags or “Crumple zones” will ever be enough
    to make a compact car safer with a large disparity in mass.
    I pulled up to a stop light in a 76 Olds Cutlass just behind
    a Japanese pickup truck. Some dork in a Japanese econobox
    who was too busy chatting with a guy in the passenger seat,
    to see the signal light hit my rear end at 30+ MPH.
    The impact drove the Olds about 5′ into the ass end of the
    mini pickup. The econobox folded like an accordion. The
    radiator was punctured and leaked all the coolant out in
    a matter of seconds. It was totaled! The pickups rear
    bumper was hanging at a 45 degree angle.
    The only damage to the Olds was a 4″ gash in the rear
    bumper. This is why Yuppies buy SUV’s. They instinctively
    know that they are safer than smaller cars.

  22. Zon said: “I personally don’t understand the paranoia these people who drive around in massive vehicles with only one person inside, with all kinds of guards, bars, lift kits and huge tires etc, that have never been off road ever, must feel.”
    I’m a physical therapist. When I was still doing PT full time I specialized in teaching people how to walk again after they’d been smashed to ratsh1t in car accidents. Or in some cases teaching them how to roll over and maybe wipe their own butts. Turns out, being able to wipe your own butt is a major watershed point in life expectancy. Drops -severely- for those who can’t.
    I was never short of patients.
    Some learn from experience. Smart people learn from -other’s- experience. I drive what the people with the least injuries drove. Massive vehicle with nerf bars and huge bumpers. (No lift kit though. Lift kits raise the center of gravity.) Common sense only looks like paranoia if you don’t understand the risks of the game.
    Look up the cost of a power wheelchair and compare it to all that money you’re saving on gas. Might not be the bargain you think.

  23. Phantom
    the dodge 2500 had 2 versions, 7200 & 7800, mine was the latter (4X4), they came with 5 inch spacers between body and frame. With box cap and a full load of fuel she weighted 4 ton even, and that’s a lot of truck for some idiot in one of those eco boxes to hit. Had one fool hit the trailer hitch on her, caved the front end of the Nipper, not a scratch on the tank:-))))
    One has to wonder what price some ppl will pay (save money) to shorten their life by years???

  24. Road speed limit 50 mph.
    2 lane with alternate passing zones.
    Generous paved “full lane” shoulders.
    Mileage for this model ‘fart’ is overstated:
    http://www.treehugger.com/cars/smart-car-how-smart-is-it.html
    This was full head-on followed by an airborne fart with a hard landing to fully disperse the kinetic energy involved. (If this car didn’t travel clear over the roof of the van before landing,(on its wheels) I’ll eat my hat. This is the only reason the little car was not fully compacted.
    I love the sandwich bag that popped out of the steering wheel.
    If you must buy a mini car, the Spark (Chevy) is the only one to pass the off-set crash test (10 airbags with intelligent staging.)
    http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/chevy-spark-only-minicar-to-pass-iihs-small-overlap-crash-test/
    Notice they don’t even bother to test the fart.

  25. Just for the record, SMART stands for Swatch-Mercedes Art car. Yep, Swatch the watch people.

  26. I think its because they’ve never seen what rehab actually entails. People think everything in medicine is magic.
    Truth is the stuff we can fix is as nothing compared to the stuff we can’t. As the saying goes, pain hurts. As the other saying goes, life is hard, harder when you’re stupid.
    Plan accordingly.

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