Smart Car Coming To the US In Jan. 2008

Blahbooboo3 writes "After many delays and missed promises, the Smart Car is finally coming to the US in January 2008. Smart Car uses a specially designed crash cage to protect the driver and gets upwards of 40 miles per gallon. Crash tests are very positive. The car is deceptively large inside, as showcased by this great ad from the Smart USA site. The second-generation Fortwo will be offered first, starting around $14,000. Unfortunately the slick roadster isn't coming any time soon."

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[gilesjuk]

Firstly, you can change the bodywork easily for different designs. Secondly it's a Mercedes, Thirdly it can park in small spaces in cities which other cars can't.

$14,000 too high?

[Bluecobra]

While I am all for more small and fuel efficient cars here, a $14K price tag seems like a bit too much. Why would someone spend that much on a car when they can get 4 door Toyota Corolla for around the same price with the same fuel efficiency? I would think that the $10K range would be more reasonable.

Scions and the Yaris DON'T get the same milage

[mrchaotica]

The Smart gets more than 40mpg; the most efficient Toyotas (in the US) get up to 36 (manual Yaris according to fueleconomy.gov).

If you want a Toyota comparable to the Smart, you're looking at an Aygo [wikipedia.org], which is even smaller than a Yaris and not sold in the US.

By the way, about those Scions: although the first-gen xA and xB had the same 104hp, 1.5L engine as the Echo and Yaris, the new xB and xD will have larger ones and will probably get less mileage.

Re:Forget smart cars...

[dangitman]

My Dad told me a story this afternoon

(John Stewart voice) Gooo on...

about a woman who bought an RV, drove it on the highway, set the cruise control, went back to make breafast, and, of course, the RV crashed.

Yeah, stupid people are funny.

The woman sued the RV maker for not explicitly stating in the manual that she needed to be behind the wheel when on cruise control and won a million bucks.

Of course she did! The system is out of control, I tells ya.

Did you ever consider that your father might be telling you an urban myth?

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[Bluefirebird]

Simply because it is cool! The Smart is the equivalent of the MAC.
It is mostly used by young people that creativity related careers like architects and designers. It is also quite common as a company car for innovative dynamic companies.

Besides, you can park perpendicularly in a street that only allows parallel parking.

Read Snopes lately?

[SlashChick]

I guess when it's your parents who tell you these whoppers, you wouldn't bother to check up on this urban legend with Snopes [snopes.com]. You can take some consolation in the fact that Snopes points out that false rumors of this variety have been circulating since the late 1970's.

Re:$14,000 too high?

[SlashChick]

The Smart "pure" model starts out at "under $12,000" according to their site. Also, to test your theory, I went to toyota.com and configured a Corolla. Once I added in an automatic transmission and power windows/door locks (which is a $500 option on the Corolla!), my MSRP was $16,325. I would imagine that the Corolla will still be a more popular car -- but it's certainly not cheaper.

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[mrchaotica]

Just look at Fortwo, taller than it is wide...

Well, considering that, you'd think it'd be safer than other small cars in side impacts, because the door reinforcements are higher off the ground. Also, because it's so short, the side impact actually hits the A and B pillars, the front and back wheels (at the same time!), etc -- the stuff that's rather more solid than the doors.

In a side-impact crash, I would expect the Smart to be more likely to roll and get less smashed-in, meaning that the occupants would be at greater risk for whiplash but less risk for entrapment or getting crushed.

Re:Now all we need to do

[spoop]

I wouldn't exactly call a Smart "safe," at least compared to larger cars. It might have a spiffy protective cage so that cabin doesn't deform in a crash and smoosh the occupants, but you can't argue with physics. And I'm not talking about mass and collisions with large SUVs. The tiny size means that when you hit something there is less time to decelerate since the distance between the front bumper and the passenger cabin is so small. This means that the force acting on the occupants in a crash is multiple times greater than in a normal sized car. It may be safe for a car its size, but compared to any run of the mill small car it's *NOT* safe.

Your info is out of date.

[pavon]

The amount of sulfur content in the exhaust is entirely dependent on how much is fuel - it can removed during refinement, it just costs a little more. Europe has had strict requirements about sulfur content for quite some time, and the US and Canada both passed laws last year to do the same [wikipedia.org]. As far as the other nasty stuff, catalytic converters and in-engine burn efficiency on diesels have improved to the point where that is really no longer a concern. The only downside that I know of is that some diesel vehicles still have problems getting started in very cold climates, and until the engine warms up may have higher particulate concentration? This might be a concern in canada - I haven't looked into it much myself as I live in the US SW.

Diesel is a great fuel for the economically minded as it is more energy efficient than gasoline, and can also supplemented with biodiesel to the extent it is available (which in turn is much much more efficient than ethanol).

"smart", not "Smart Car".

[Moskit]

"smart" with a lowercase "s" is the correct brand and car name.

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[deacon]

A Mercedes? And you think that's a plus? Most of us laugh at the twits who think the mercedes gives them "status". The rest of us have pity for them based on the very low reliability record of mercedes in general as shown in every years Consumer Reports car issue. People in the know have been fleeing mercedes to go to Lexus for years.

Please. If this was built by Toyota, it would be worthy of consideration. Considering the diaster of mercedes reliabiliy along with the outrageous cost of spare parts, the end-user-repair-hostile attitude of the mercedes organization (like volvo- another p0s nowdays-) What's a set of factory repair manuals for a merc cost nowdays- $3K? 5K? Can you even get them?? My toyota ones cost me about 100. Repair parts are widely available and toyota dealers compete on parts costs.

Like the new mini, this car is for clueless yuppies with slack jaws and "Ohh - Shiny" on their lips.

The decline of slashdot posters

[CompMD]

is evident in many of these posts. The demonstrated lack of understanding in topics such as statics and dynamics, mechanics, mechanical engineering, crash dynamics, and automotive technology is astounding. Before anyone decides to flame me, I am an aerospace engineer, I build airplanes for one of the greatest living aircraft designers in the world. I am well educated in how cars are supposed to work. I am amazed at the number of Honda/Toyota fanboys that post in here saying things like tantamount to "my Corolla is teh greatest car evar and gets awesome mileage lol" and "my Civic can get the same mileage as the Smart so OBVIOUSLY the Smart car is stupid roflhehe." You just don't get it. What is the size of the engine in your Corolla or your Civic? How much power does it provide? How much power does the car require to maintain 60mph on a straight and level road on a standard day? You're talking about cars over 2,000 pounds. The gas engine in the Fortwo is a turbocharged 700cc 3-cylinder. There are motorcycles with higher displacement engines. And yet the Fortwo is still capable of dealing with traffic. Remember, the car is freaking tiny. It only needs 50-60hp to drive around and still be a useful car.

And don't give me this crap about "zomg the mileage of my corolla is fantastic." Its a load of bullshit. Take a lightweight econobox and you're sure to get decent mileage. Take some good engineering and you can give it a run for its money. I'll take the 27mpg that I get in a 300hp AWD turbocharged 4,000 pound station wagon any day over your Civic. I get a far more useful, safe, fun, and long-lasting vehicle than you ever will. Sure, I paid more for that wagon used than a new Civic, but I can drive _through_ a brick wall unscathed (Top Gear has demonstrated this in a Volvo 740) and you cannot. Are you willing to put a price tag on your life and the lives of your passengers? I'm not.

The safety of Civics and Corollas has never been their selling point. Why do you think they cost so much less than a comparably equipped VW, Volvo, or Mercedes? The cost cutting has to be somewhere, and it is in the safety engineering. I have been in or witnessed accidents with Volvos and Mercedes several times, and in most cases, the Volvo or Mercedes driver comes out ok. Sometimes the Volvo or Mercedes can even drive away from the crash. The same cannot be said for the other vehicle. There was time and effort put into safety by companies like these, and it shows. Mercedes has been a pioneer in safety systems forever; hell, they INVENTED the automobile. Mercedes has been using antilock brakes for over 70 YEARS. ABS isn't even standard on the Corolla. Volvo INVENTED the three point seatbelt almost 50 years ago, but look how long it took before other car companies gave enough of a damn to actually implement them. These are companies that know what they are doing, and are informed, and most of you clearly are not informed.

Wake the fuck up slashdot, this lack of education and knowledge is disturbing.

Re:Scions and the Yaris DON'T get the same milage

[Anonymous Coward]

From the smart.com fact sheets, the smart cdi (diesel) only gets from 3.2 to 3.4 liters per 100km, which means :

100 km = 62.14 miles
3.4 l = 0.79 gallon

so, 62.14 x 1/0.79 = 78.6 miles/gallon and you can use biodiesel...

So less fuel efficient smart is the Brabus one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5S1NAMnYKM, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Yo6V2E0sM [youtube.com]) gets up to 6.7 liters per 100km, which means :

6.7 l = 1.58 gallon

so, 62.14 x 1/1.58 = 39.3 miles/gallon but you have a pretty sporty car for that mileage !

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[mustafap]

>... and you won't get laughed at in them either.

That doesn't happen here in the uk, since the vehicle is seen as cool, distinctive and effective.

On the other hand the usa motor market that seems to think driving tanks with the same fuel economy as cars from 80 years ago is ok - they get laughed at, by everyone else in the world. Attitudes are changing this way, thankfully, and maybe one day the usa will 'get it'.

Back to the future!

[PastaAnta]

I am getting 33km/l (78 miles per gallon in twelve-finger units) in my Volkswagen Lupo 3L [wikipedia.org] from 2001.
The Lupo can transport 4 persons and reach a top speed in excess of 165km/h (102mph in twelve-finger units). Read more here [vwvortex.com].
Volkswagen has now ceased building this gem - and well, I guess it would never sell in SUV-loving States of America anyway.

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[mrthejud]

I have no idea why you would purchase the Americanized smart car. It seems like a waste of space. I just purchased the Canadian/European model which uses a diesel engine. Instead of a sissy 40 MPG I get about 70-74 MPG. Its intense, now I get to scoff at all of the people who drive vehicles other than mine because there isn't much that can beat it for gas mileage. I'm just glad I bought mine before this crap happened.

Re:Rather get one of the scion models or even a ya

[Archimonde]

I won't argue with your Volvo example but your other paragraph:

The Smart car has Mercedes engineering behind it, and crashworthiness is superior to anything put out from Toyota.

is some serious bullshit.

The previous model of Smart got barely three stars(http://www.crash-test.org/marques/resultat.p hp?mod=mccsma_1999-2000 [crash-test.org])in Euro NCAP test. I do think that the new one isn't much more safer than that. Consider that Toyota Yaris got 5/5 stars in the same test (http://www.adac.de/Tests/Crash_Tests/Automodelle/ toyota_yaris_ab2005.asp?ComponentID=130151&SourceP ageID=8650 [www.adac.de]). There goes your fanboi credibility.

And the Smart's handling. Pathetic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfguxvWPRZE [youtube.com]

Re:The decline of slashdot posters

[dokebi]

I respect expert opinion, but as an engineer I value testing over hearsay. [consumerreports.org]

Re:Now all we need to do

[seann]

but..
its

a

wall
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s [youtube.com]

Re:Comedy handling

[cristal]

This test was performed with an the old model of the smart fortwo. My wife leased 2 fortwos each for one year. I drove it and it wasn't that bad. Moreover the new smart fortwo that is sold in Europe since 2007 and will be sold in the US in 2008 has been redesigned and optimized. (cf www.smart.com). The new one is considered as a "car" in the US. and that was not the case for the previous one, that's why smart wasn't able to sold them in the US in the past.

Re:Forget smart cars...

[flanksteak]

Help him out. The myth is reviewed at snopes.com [snopes.com]. Maybe his dad reads snopes just for stories to unload on him.

Re:...and gets upwards of 40 miles per gallon

[ctid]

Remember, imperial gallons are about 20% larger than US gallons. Wiki page on gallons [wikipedia.org].