TP's smart fortwo blog

[Tideland Prius]

NW ON is freshly paved (at least Hwy 11/17 is). Oh soo smooth and bright white lines.

[jayman]

Couple of months ago I drove as far east as Dryden. Especially East of Kenora, towards Vermillion Bay, wasn't that new at all

[Tideland Prius]

Must've been done between your trip and mine. It's this "Northern Highways Improvement Project". A couple of months should be enough time to rip up the road, resurface and repaint, right? Honestly, they were new. I don't think all places got it since I remember Dryden's roads were the normal light grey colour. I know the ring road around Kenora (Hwy 1a?) is one stretch that's newly paved.

[JimboK]

I've seen nothing but pictures of the Smart until yesterday, then ... bam! (Figuratively.) I've had three sightings in the wild in two days, two within an hour of each other last night -- one white or silver (a fleeting glimpse) and the other black. The third was today, and could have been the same as the first one last night; it was in the same general area and it was silver.

Interestingly, I was doing my usual P&G thing last night when I spotted the black one in my rear view mirror. He seemed to be very patient as we approached a red light and I figured he might appreciate the chance to save a little fuel (as I am when a conservative driver leads the way). Then when the light turned and the road changed from two lanes to four, he immediately floored it and passed like most of the other fuel-wasters on the road.

[Rae Vynn]

We apparently have two or three here in Grays Harbor... at least one red one, and one blue.
We've seen several in Olympia, too.
I think they are cute!
Did anyone else see the article about how that tall basketball player (I can't think of his name,sorry) just got his?

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by JimboK

I've seen nothing but pictures of the Smart until yesterday, then ... bam! (Figuratively.) I've had three sightings in the wild in two days, two within an hour of each other last night -- one white or silver (a fleeting glimpse) and the other black. The third was today, and could have been the same as the first one last night; it was in the same general area and it was silver.

Interestingly, I was doing my usual P&G thing last night when I spotted the black one in my rear view mirror. He seemed to be very patient as we approached a red light and I figured he might appreciate the chance to save a little fuel (as I am when a conservative driver leads the way). Then when the light turned and the road changed from two lanes to four, he immediately floored it and passed like most of the other fuel-wasters on the road.

Dunno but could be trying to prove a point that it isn't slow? <shrug>. They are fun to drive though and now that the 451 is more accessible (just like how the current Prius is more appealing than the 1st Gen), we're starting to see more regular folks buy it rather than "early adopters"

Originally Posted by Rae Vynn

We apparently have two or three here in Grays Harbor... at least one red one, and one blue.
We've seen several in Olympia, too.
I think they are cute!
Did anyone else see the article about how that tall basketball player (I can't think of his name,sorry) just got his?

Shaquille O' Neal? Yeah he bought a convertible and I'm sure he won't have the top up lol.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Must've been done between your trip and mine. It's this "Northern Highways Improvement Project".

Ok checked my records and that was back in April. So no doubt the summer construction is in full force now.

Manitoba really needs to repave the Trans Canada between the #12 turnoff and Whiteshell. They should just repave the entire thing from Winnipeg east.

[Tideland Prius]

That would be nice lol. The road changed quite drastically at the MB/ON border. Winnipeg seemed ok to me. I went straight into town. It was the same night the incident occurred on the Greyhound at Portage-La-Prairie.

[hyo silver]

Last time I drove through Manitoba, about four years ago, I thought the bumpy roads were quite effective at reducing speeding. Also, the water level was so high I dared not pull over, lest we became entombed in the swamp.

The nicest section of pavement we found in the whole country at the time was highway 39 in Saskatchewan, freshly paved and very smooth.

As for the Smart Car, it seems to me the short wheelbase would make for a choppy ride. What's been your experience, Tideland? I'm also curious to know the top speed, and how it fares climbing the Coquihalla.

[Tideland Prius]

lol. Highway 9 between Drumheller and Calgary is VERY bumpy because it's under construction. When the limit says 30km/h, you better be doing 30 unless you want to start leaving a trail of car parts.

Yeah, by logic, it would but surprisingly, it isn't as choppy as I thought it'd be (say compared to a 90" wheelbase 2dr RAV4). The top speed is 145km/h, I have taken it up to 125-130km/h and if there's no wind, it's as stable as a normal car. The Okanagan Connector posed the bigger problem I thought. I was able to maintain 90km/h in 4th gear up the steepest stretches (with 2 passengers and all my luggage). 4th has enough power to slowly increase the speed if you wanted to but it was already at 3,500rpm and I'm comfortable at 90km/h. I think I was doing 100km/h up the Coq but I don't remember which gear.