smart Cars in the US!

hey guys, ive been a long time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. i actually have had a prius since they first came out, but now another brand of automobile has caught my eye.

i dont know if any of u know, but smart cars are coming to the US, a division of daimler chrysler

below is a pic of a smart fortwo, 60 mpg



this is the forfour



since the prius and smart cars are similar in the fact that they appeal to gas consumption conscious drivers, and since i think that they are pretty interesting, i was hoping to borrow some priuschat users time on my site.

if anyone is interested, my website is www.smartcarsint.com (smart cars international)

thanks!

yeah there are pros and cons to every car. the fortwo costs about 8,500 euro if i recall. thats one of the main benefits. who knows hte price in the states.

but im confused, i dont know why you would be limited to short trips because of the low power of the vehicle. just because it takes longer to accelerate doesnt mean you cannot drive it a long distance.

if i remember correctly, they are changing a lot of things with the engine. for the United states its 60 hp

i remember its not going to be diesel either,but i coudl be wrong

more stats here:

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartcar.asp

The smart has no problems with highway or city traffic. I use mine daily on the freeway and spend much of it passing slower traffic.

Does anyone have the specs on the Forfour? What is the MPG..etc?

The ForFour is going away per http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060325/bs_nm/...mlerchrysler_dc (was on the front page of Yahoo). Also, from the article it says "DaimlerChrysler spokesman Marc Binder said the company had not yet decided formally whether to launch the next generation of the Smart two-seater in the United States, but cited comments from Zetsche that this was likely."

I would not want to be driving the ForTwo on US roads (at least not in Nor Cal). It would be a deathtrap (by simple physics) given the large # of huge, heavy SUVs here and even their weight compared to typical passenger cars. The ForFour is pretty marginal too.

From http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?id=4730, a fortwo coupe weighs 730 kg -> 1609 lbs. From http://www.smart.com/-snm-0147663340-11424...f%2f55kw%2epage, the forfour weighs 965 kg -> 2127 lbs.

In comparison, here are some other weights:
06 Prius: 2890 lbs
07 4 cylinder Camry auto: 3307 lbs
07 V6 Camry XLE auto: 3516 lbs
07 Chevy Tahoe 2WD: 5443 lbs
07 Chevy Tahoe 4x4: 5706 lbs
06 Civic Sedan: 2628 - 2840 lbs depending on the trim and transmission

One unknown is reliability. Mercedes reliability is awful. Chrysler-branded vehicles aren't as bad though...

I just saw one of these going home from work yesterday. It did not seem to have any problems keeping up with traffic nor did it seem to be noisey like a VW bug (like this article says http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/09/pf/autos/smart/). It had Juarez plates so they probably sold in Mexico. The ForFour looks OK but not sure about the FoTwo. It was way too small unless all you needed it for was commutting.

The Honda Insight weighs 1700 lbs. I would never buy the ForTwo just because I can't imagine such a short wheelbase making for a decent ride on the highway, but the ForFour and Roadster look alot better, more reminiscent of the Mini Cooper.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(smartcarsintdotcom @ Feb 20 2005, 10:26 PM) [snapback]66035[/snapback]</div>

Is this the same as the Smart car which has been sold for some years by Mercedes in Europe? They look very similar.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jun 13 2006, 03:18 PM) [snapback]270672[/snapback]</div>

Yes. Mercedes is part of Daimler Chrysler.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Potential Buyer @ Jun 13 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]270636[/snapback]</div>

The Smart car is not marketed as a highway cruiser. Its primary purpose is urban driving. I have seen tons of them in European cities, but rarely any on the interurban roads.

I saw tons of these smart cars during my trip to Canada two weeks ago. They even cruse on highways! Actually, Canada is full of small cars like Echo, Fit, Yaris, etc.

dayum!! 24sec to 60...thats a lil too slow..
for somethin like that, y not just get a golf cart? liek 3-4k and u can get around places without walking
and i think the gov is promoting that in some area to reduce pollution

but i like the small tiny Smart cars, the coupe is nice

They're Heeeere!

Just saw a fully Americanised 2-door Smart car in Cave Creek, AZ (Near Phoenix). I had time for a brief chat with the owner. She'd had it about three weeks, reports a 50mpg economy, absoluty loves the car, and got it from a dealer in Scottsdale, AZ. She said her major complaint was having to explain it's not a golf cart. We do have lots of golf carts around here that look a lot like the Smart.

They're now officially coming in 2008.

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...1/1508/makeview

Oh I though the Smart Car was an EV car. Not interested at only 46mph gallon in the city. I can get that with my Prius.

For now I will stick to my Prius and Daimler Chrysler Gem.

I think the car is cute though. I would need it to be an EV to be interested though.

i saw a fortwo a couple weeks ago on the highway here, and i could have sworn it had illinois plates. though, it was going the other way so i could be mistaken about the plates.