When I buy my next car, it'll be a Smart-fortwo

[Heidi]

57 mpg, 4 out of 5 stars in the Euro NCAP Adult Occupant Protection, 2 out of 4 stars in the Pedestrian protection test, and in American tests using a five star rating, Smart cars received a four star safety rating for the driver from a front impact, and a five star safety rating for the driver for a side impact. (I currently drive, _when_ I drive, a Volvo station wagon, but it consumes waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much gas, far more than my previous car, a Chevy Camaro that I absolutely _LOVED_ ... except for its handling on snow and ice.)

Another reason to love the Smart-fortwo is shown in this (crappy) iPhone photo that I shot in the village just down mountain from us. You can park it virtually anywhere.

[CreekDog]

1. so you're saying the answer is 42?

:D

[Heidi]

3. No, "dude," that's not whatI'm saying.

:7

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. LOL. It's the answer to everything we've ever wanted to know. n/t

[ogneopasno]

2. You get on with your bad self there.

[Heidi]

5. Would you totally kick my ass on the ice...

even in a Smart? :rofl:

[ogneopasno]

6. You know it!

Unless *I* were the one driving the Smart, because clearly it has no room for my hockey gear.

[Heidi]

9. Au contraire, mon amie!

I've seen many, many Smarty-fortwo with bicycles, hockey and ski gear on top-racks. You can throw your skates in the trunk. :7

[ogneopasno]

13. Meh, not when I've got two kids and their gear, too.

Some car-people relationships just aren't meant to be... :nopity:

[Heidi]

17. Ah, well.

I love American cars for their roominess, smooth ride and (in my experience) the whole experience of driving an American-made car. At certain points in my life, I was more than willing to pay for all of that. I'm 46 now, and the biggest thing I'll ever have to transport for the rest of the days is my hefty (don't tell him I said so) cat in his cat taxi. :rofl:

[wolfgangmo]

69. Actually it does have room

for your hockey gear.

Unless you are a coach or something. It'll fit.

The real bummer is the Canada gets the turbo diesel which gets about 70 MPG. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo#Engine_and_fuel_economy_2

[hlthe2b]

4. I don't believe they get anything near 57 mpg in the US...

unless something has changed since I last researched them... I guess it probably has to do with all the "weighty" emissions and safety features they add for US market..

[Heidi]

7. Quote (from the US):

39. RE: 2008 Smart Fortwo Test Drive: A Slow but Solid American Start
Bought mine on 10 Nov. Waited 14 months for delivery. Drove it over 200 miles to get home from dealer. Drive a mixture of in-town ans hiway (over a high mountain pass twice a day). Today I filled up and got 57.6 miles per gallon. I can carry everything I need behind the seats. Try one before you sneer at them!! http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4232419.html

[pnutbutr]

16. quote from www.smartusa.com

The smart fortwo is designed to achieve 33 city/41 highway mpg according to 2008 EPA standards, which involves measuring mpg while taking into account real-life driving conditions such as start/stop city traffic, air-conditioning, heating etc. According to information obtained on fueleconomy.gov, the smart fortwo is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid gasoline-powered vehicle in the USA today. The gas tank of the smart fortwo is 8.7 gallons.

*Fuel economy estimates were derived in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) vehicle testing procedures for model year 2008 as specified in 40 C.F.R. pts. 86 and 600 (2007). These estimates are intended for comparison between other vehicles within the same class. Individual drivers’ actual mileage will vary depending on how they drive and maintain their vehicles.

[Heidi]

18. Air conditioning????????

I grew up in Oklahoma and I now live in uber-humid Ticino, Switzerland. Air conditioning is a gas-sucking LUXURY. I haven't had air-conditioning in my home for more than 10 years. The Volvo has this "feature" but I've never figured out how to use either that or the heated seats feature. :rofl:

[tangent90]

37. Using the AC in a car doesn't hurt gas mileage. Not even in Locarno.

:-)

[Heidi]

43. Really???????

I've always heard that using AC consumes more fuel.

If you're familiar with Locarno, you MUST send me a PM!!!! :*

[ejpoeta]

45. they say that having your windows open on the highway can cause drag and

hurt gas mileage. that's why AC is better on highway. they say open windows in city. though, in the city i find that the air is not moving so opening my window doesn't seem to help.

[Heidi]

47. Are you kiddin'?????????

My cat likes the wind in his ears. (Shittin' ya. He'd rather have his claws pulled out one by one than have the most gentle wind muss his ear hairs.)

[ejpoeta]

49. does your cat like to ride in the car??? because whenever my cat goes in the car

which is rarely... she digs her claws into my legs and gets in my face. try driving a stick with a cat on your leg and you can't shift gears!! though that was a long time ago with the stick shift.... i haven't had a stick shift car in a few years.

[Javaman]

57. who is this mystical "they" you speak of? nt

[ejpoeta]

58. experts. i believe it has to do with the aerodinamic shape of the car

and the open windows mess up the aerodynamic shape of the car causing drag. i've heard it many times when they were talking about gas mileage when the prices were up over $4/gal. I remember that being one of the things they were all discussing on the various shows, along with tire pressure and maintenance on the car and such.

[tangent90]

63. Engineers and wind tunnel technicians.

:-)

[tangent90]

64. Haha...I was there 12 years ago just for a couple days, I don't really know it at all well.

It's a very pretty place, I sure remember that.
:D
Oh, yeah...it's true about the mileage. I'm an aeronautical engineer, I'm very sure about it. :D

[hlthe2b]

22. I don't sneer... I think they are cute and I'm impressed with safety..

stats....But, the absence of a back seat will not be looked upon as favorable for my big beautiful doggy girl, who dearly loves to stretch out and kick her feet up behind me! LOL

[Heidi]

26. My cat and my husband are okay to ride in the front.

"Cute" didn't really occur to me. In terms of looks, I loved my Camaro, my Mazda 626 and the Lexus my boyfriend-before-I-married-someone-else insisted I drive on snowy days in Colorado.

I just think the Smart is practical for my lifestyle. :shrug:

[hlthe2b]

27. I'm guessing your cat isn't 75 plus pounds, though!

And while you may be a "purist," but they ARE cute! ;)

[Heidi]

34. The Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger doesn't weigh 75 pounds

YET!

Here he is, at 12 pounds, attempting to dent the hood of my friend's BMW. :rofl:

[EOTE]

23. Another quote. This one from the fueleconomy.gov

smart fortwo coupe
3 cyl, 1 L, Automatic (S5), Premium 33 mpg hwy 41 mpg city
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/bymodel/2008_smart_fortwo.shtml

And also Wikipedia quoting EPA figures:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the vehicle at 36 mpg-US (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg-imp) combined.<4>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo


They should get much better fuel economy considering how ridiculously light and underpowered it is, but unfortunately it doesn't.

[Heidi]

28. It's hard for me to get an American-made car here. Do you know of an American-made

car that compares favorably for size/weight? Also, I don't feel particularly duty-bound to drive an American car, but I'm willing to entertain opinions to the contrary.

[EOTE]

33. Why is it that you're so set on getting an extremely light weight car?

Fortunately, I know of no American cars which weigh under a ton right now. The closest I can think of outside of the U.S. are the Miata and Mini Cooper, both of which are around a ton. But the only advantages I can think of for buying a very light weight car are maneuverability and fuel economy. Considering there are plenty of compacts which are just as maneuverable and offer similar fuel economy, why not go with something like a base Cobalt with a manual transmission. Far more utility and safety and similar fuel economy for even cheaper than the Smart.

[Heidi]

38. A car for me is a CONVENIENCE. The most far I'll ever have to drive in it

is 100 miles. I would drive it for grocery shopping, errands, trips to the vet. Business travel, for me, is easier by rail and plane. As to cars, Switzerland is an extremely small country with extremely narrow roads and highways. Perhaps it's a matter of perception (and reality is influenced by perception) but I feel much more in control on the autobahn in a smaller car than in a larger car (like the Volvo station wagon I'm now driving -- WHEN I can bear to drive this beast.)

[EOTE]

44. I understand that.

But are you willing to pay a good deal more for a car that's smaller, sacrifices a good deal of passenger and cargo room and doesn't provide extra in terms of fuel economy? A Mini Cooper costs a bit more, but is a good deal safer and offers far more in terms of comfort and amenities and is a hell of a lot more fun to drive and offers the same fuel economy. A Cobalt isn't quite as small, but is cheaper, offers about the same fuel economy, is a good deal safer, offers far more driver and passenger comfort and a good deal more storage as well. Granted a Smart for Two might be a tad more maneuverable than a Cobalt, but is more expensive, a bear to drive with almost no acceleration, isn't as safe (especially at higher speeds) and doesn't have nearly as many amenities. I guess if compact size is your largest deciding factor, you can't get much (if any) smaller than the Smart, but once you go beyond that small size, I don't see much appeal in the car. If they sold it for more like $10,000 (what I think they should be selling for), I'd be far more likely to consider one.

[Heidi]

46. I will look into the Cobalt.

Please feel free to send me more info by PM. I don't want ammenities. I want convenience. Ideally: good gas mileage, easy to park (it's a small country), decent safety rating (I won't be driving more than 100 miles in most instances), space isn't really an issue -- it's cat, husband OR groceries in most cases. I can get a used Smart for much less than CHF 10,000 -- I'm not looking, necessarily for a brand-spankin'-new car. If it's clean and passes my mechanic's persnickety once-over, the seller's word is good with me. :D

[EOTE]

51. Perhaps they're a good deal more expensive in the U.S.

I've looked in my area and the cheapest I can find for a used one is around 14k where I can find a bunch of new compacts for that price. I don't know much about Francs, but I think the exchange rate is close to 1:1. 10k seems a lot more reasonable if it's a low mileage car. My next car purchase is going to be made with economy foremost in my mind.

[EOTE]

10. The last Smart I saw got fairly unimpressive numbers.

Especially for a car around 2000 lbs. Here we have a sub-subcompact powered by a puny 1 liter diesel and in real world tests, I saw it getting in the high 30s in terms of fuel economy. When you have a bunch of decent true compacts that get similar fuel economy and can seat 4 comfortably for the same price, I didn't understand where the market for the Smart was. The Honda Insight was priced similarly (a bit more, but in the same ball park), got FAR better fuel economy (like twice as good) and looked far more comfortable for day to day use. The Smart seems to be too much of a compromise in too many areas for my taste.

[Heidi]

15. 1609 pounds rounds to 1,500, not 2,000.

I like Hondas, too, by the way. And the first car I ever owned ("first car" gift from my parents) was a 1979 Toyota -- which I wrecked at 16 and they replaced with a pee-yellow Ford LTD as punishment. :7

[EOTE]

30. 1600 lbs does not a safe car make.

There's only so much that crumple zones and advanced architecture can do. It can't compensate for the fact that when you get involved in a high speed crash in a vehicle that small, deceleration is INSTANT, meaning almost certain death. When there are cars that literally weigh twice as much, yet get very similar fuel economy and provide a far safer and more hospitable environment, I can't see myself getting into a vehicle that provides so many compromises.

[Heidi]

42. Cool. I totally respect that. But I'm still getting a smart.

It's maybe a different risk for US drivers than it is for Americans driving a Smart in Ticino, Switzerland. :shrug: If you'll read through my posts here, you'll see that I take public transportation most of the time. But a Smart will be a convenience: grocery shopping, taking my cat to the vet, maybe hauling our goddaughters to work or dance/voice/piano/guitar lessons. Anything beyond three or four hours of driving, I take the train or fly.

[EOTE]

48. I hope you enjoy it.

And you're right, the Smart makes a lot more sense in Europe where it won't have to contend with the mutually assured destruction of the ever larger vehicles sold in the U.S. I just feel more comfortable in a larger car regardless of the vehicles around me. And I don't understand why a vehicle that would seem to be so economy minded would cost so much and provide such comparatively poor fuel economy. I'd expect any vehicle that light weight with so little power on tap to get at least 60mpg considering that there are many vehicles sold in the U.S. at literally twice the weight that get comparable fuel economy, and I'm not even referring to any hybrids. At the height of gas prices in the U.S., I started looking for Insights and found that they had a pretty crazy premium attached to them. Now that gas prices are more reasonable, they're a lot more affordable. I'm going to try to pick one up while the market is down, I'm sure it will be a fantastic investment even if we don't see $4 gas any time soon.

[PfcHammer]

8. Is it true you don't have to garage them? I mean you just

stick them in yo pocket?

[Heidi]

11. I don't have a garage. I have a pergola.

I'd prolly park my Smart on my patio, or just attach it as an additional bead on my mala. :7

[TahitiNut]

14. After collisions with pedestrians, the pedestrians are taken to Emergency ...

... to have them extracted.

[Heidi]

19. Nah, the Smart owners just dust the windshield glass off

of the pedestrians and give 'em a ride to the bus stop.

REALLY. My mother-in-law was driving the Volvo wagon about a month ago and she rear-ended a brand-new Smart-fortwo -- didn't even crease the Smart's back bumper.

[Bolo Boffin]

12. I want one of these fortwo's too. n/t

[specimenfred1984]

20. I'm buying a huge muscle car to compensate for my tiny ...

Then I'm going to brag about what great gas mileage it gets.

[Heidi]

21. Hey, now. I was a Camaro Berlinetta driver for years, and I don't even HAVE a whatever-y'all-guys-

have. :rofl:

I drove cross-country (Vail to Key West) in that car and haven't had a better driving experience ever in my life. However, that was 10 years ago, and my life is far different now.

[hfojvt]

24. a flea!!

I wanted one of those from the time I first saw one in 2001

The ones they are selling in America though, do not get nearly as good gas mileage.

[Heidi]

31. Yeah, kind of a flea.

But I don't feel any need to make a big "I'm the dog, you're the FLEA" statement when I drive. It's just for getting from rail station to the next, and for relatively local destinations. If I've gotta drive more than four hours, I'd just as soon take the train or fly.

P.S. I've missed you! :*

[Warpy]

25. I live in the Rockies and it's still monster truck territory

for the most part. Still, I've seen one brave soul driving a Smart Car here in the city.

Alas, I need a little more cargo room and I drive very little, so I ended up with a little Kia. It got an impressive 40+ MPG with the AC on when I did a road trip a year ago, so I can't complain too much.

If I still lived in Boston, though, it would be a Smart Car. Just no longer needing to parallel park would be argument enough in favor of getting one.

[Heidi]

29. My sister lives in Key West and she LOVES her Kia.

:thumbsup:

[Warpy]

32. It's a fun little car to drive

and quite comfortable on long trips. It also has enough cargo space for my yearly trips to buy fiber to spin and weave.

[zeemike]

35. That is actually kind of funny to me.

In 1980 I bought a VW diesel Rabbit that consistently got 50mpg and I drove it over 250,000 miles before I sold it. It seated 4 comfortably and had a nice trunk...how is it that we now think 36 or 46 is good mpg?

[Heidi]

39. I know, I learned to drive in a 1969 (or so) baby blue VW beetle.

It was my Dad's "baby" -- and he taught me to drive in cemetaries because I couldn't kill anyone who was already dead. Small cars feel like "home" to me. :shrug:

[zeemike]

56. Know what you mean.

I had a beetle and a van and I loved them because I could do all the maintenance myself with just a few basic tools. You could actually pull the engine our of one in less than an hour.

[wolfgangmo]

70. If you consider that the model T ford

Got about 25 MPG and was a flex fuel vehicle, then we really have not made much progress at all.

[unhappycamper]

36. Nice wheels, Babe.

Do you need any Out of Iraq, IVAW or Smedley Butler bumper stickers? :hug:

[Heidi]

40. What I need, darling, is prayer/good vibes/pure intentions for healing.

Daddy started chemo yesterday. I'll send you a PM tomorrow. :hug: :hug:

[alfredo]

50. Toyota IQ

this car will be sold under the Scion brand.

[Heidi]

54. On looks alone, I like it a lot.

:thumbsup:

[alfredo]

61. It has the Yaris/Vitz engine. It should be pretty quick.

[baldguy]

52. I can't see that being able to handle any amount of snow.

Any deeper than 5 inches, it'd just spin its wheels.

[Heidi]

53. I live in Ticino, Switzerland.

Snow isn't _that_ big a problem here. :D

[baldguy]

65. I live in Buffalo NY

Blizzards in April are not uncommon.

[hlthe2b]

67. or September-October!

;)

Hey, we Coloradoans have the same patterns! Just when the crocus and Daffodils explode with color--lo and behold, one last "mega dump."

[baldguy]

68. In Oct 2006 we got 3 ft dumped on us in 2 days.

I was supposed to fly to NY that day for work, and the airport closed down and entire trip was canceled. The weight of the snow brought thousands of trees down, including the one in my front yard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Storm_%22Aphid%22

[hlthe2b]

66. You might be surprised.... may be light enough to "float"

If they give it some traction control.... Best car I ever had (despite rollover issues) was a little Suzuki Samarai years ago.... I was about the only one getting around it the 30 year record blizzard Colorado had that year up and down the front range. I know we had nearly three feet in Fort Collins and I never got snow banked unlike heavier SUVS.. It realy did float. And, despite the soft top, I was never cold-- that little "bugger" had the best heater I've ever had in a car...

[Tracer]

55. I actually saw one of these on the road in my town last Saturday!

It pulled in behind me from a side road. It is shockingly small, but if you stayed off the highways (crumple magnet in a crash), it might be OK.

[TexasObserver]

59. dupe

[TexasObserver]

60. I have friends in Houston who swear by theirs.

They have this version right here:



They drive their 40 miles round trip to downtown Houston five days a week.

It's not a bad car for two people, although it's too small for me. I like something a little larger.

[Lavender Brown]

62. Surprisingly, I see many of those around town.

Even in the winter, which can be treacherous here. I think they're cool.