smart Cars in the US!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tracysbeans @ Jun 28 2006, 04:19 PM) [snapback]278295[/snapback]</div>

Seemed like it was priced about the same as a Prius as well. Main benefit would be parking. I think Australia gives you the car free, if you buy a parking spot sized for it (for about what the car would cost).

 

And now I know what I saw a couple months ago on my way to work. I thought it was an EV car of some sort (which made me want one sooo badly).

I like these Smart Cars, but do wish they were EV. Because if I'm going to buy a car with the same or slightly less MPG as the Prius and yet is so much smaller, it doesn't make sense to buy the non-Prius. So far, Prius is the way to go. Now, if one could easily modify the Smart Car to be all-EV, then that would be a different story........... *fantisizes*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Starbug @ Jun 30 2006, 04:41 PM) [snapback]279386[/snapback]</div>

They can, they have and they do. So far nobody is bringing them here though.

 

Really?!?!?! Why do they never bring the good stuff here? *cries* I want an EV.........

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Starbug @ Jun 30 2006, 06:41 PM) [snapback]279386[/snapback]</div>

Ford did, just recently too. But they abruptly decided there was no market for it, even before the test marketing was scheduled to finish.

It was called "Th!nk"

 

Why do we talk about light cars as deathtraps more often than we talk about heavy vehicles as deadly battering rams? Yes, simple physics tells me that by driving a heavier vehicle I would be safer at the expense of the people in any vehicle I might collide with.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jeneric @ Jun 30 2006, 01:41 PM) [snapback]279239[/snapback]</div>

Ease of parking did seem to be one of the major benefits in Europe. Thanks to the very short wheelbase, the two-door Smartcar can park perpendicular to the curb where most everyone else must parallel park. This allows the Smartcar to occupy spaces that otherwise only a motorcycle could squeeze into.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Jun 30 2006, 10:15 PM) [snapback]279487[/snapback]</div>

I want the version in an EV:

WANT ONE!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Jun 30 2006, 08:15 PM) [snapback]279487[/snapback]</div>

Dang it, Ford! They have to give the cars a chance! And I'll bet there was a huge waiting list of people that wanted to be a part of that EV test too.

I swear, one of these days I'll get an original VW Bug, and modify it myself! They are small and light, so won't tax the EV system too much (plus, those old bugs are just so cool). Donations to the Starbug EV Project, anyone? :lol:

 

A Canadian company called Electrovaya has been developing new Lithium Polymer batteries and recently created an Electric SMART car. I actually saw it being trailered one afternoon (I live close to the HQ).

Here is a release on it..

"Successful launch of the Zero Emission Smart Car Concept
A prototype of the Zero Emission Smart Car, which is a cooperation between Miljøbil Grenland and the Canadian company Electrovaya, was successfully launched on the first day of the conference.
The partners behind the Zero Emission Smart Car will continue the commercialisation of this concept, and are aiming to offer a fleet of these cars to the Beijing Olympic games 2008."

 

You people are so wrong... The smart fortwo has a 50 or 61 hp engine, it's 600cc twin turbo intercooled if I remember correctly - also has active suspension, 6 speed semi automatic gearbox, and it's safe as houses because it's all a complete steel rollcage.

They cost from 6,775 in the UK, which is one of the cheapest cars on the market, compared to about 17k for a Prius.

0-60 is 18 seconds for a regular cheap petrol smart, two slower than a generation 1 Prius. And there's TONS of room inside because your feet are at the front of the car and your head is 12" from the back.

There is a diesel version of the forfour which does 0-60 in 13 seconds or 10.5 seconds depending on the version.. oh and it gets 64mpg and is HALF the price of a Prius.

There's also the BRABUS edition of the forfour, which does 0-60 in 6.9 seconds. Fast enough for you?

It's a CITY car, not at all intended for anything else, and as such is brilliant. They are also not at all bad on the highway.

There is also the smart roadster - a tiny sportscar version much like the old Honda s800, or old British sportscars from MG, Hilman etc. Not massively quick, but all about fun driving.

And finally, they're trialling an official EV version in the UK, it was launched at the British Motor show.

This stuff is ALL on the website, people! 24 seconds indeed! You have to get this diesel=slow thing out of your heads!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 28 2006, 10:37 AM) [snapback]293881[/snapback]</div>

Being in a "complete steel rollcage" doesn't automatically make it safe. The results from crash tests here conducted by the IIHS and NHTSA are conducted so that you can draw conclusions only about how well it does in a crash when crashing into other vehicles of the same class and similar size and weight. A small econobox that does very well in a crash test may do VERY poorly when hit by a huge heavy SUV.

So, I see the curb weight of a fortwo is 730 kg - > 1609 lbs. I remember seeing an article recently stating that the average curb weight of vehicles sold in the US now is ~4100 lbs (wish I could find the article now). Some folks here in the US drive INSANE SUVs like Hummer H2s which weight 6400 lbs and many drive 5000+ lbs. SUVs.

The most popular passenger car in the US (not most popular vehicle though) is the Toyota Camry and an 07 model ranges now from 3263 to 3680 lbs depending on the model and transmission.

Do you think a 1609 lb. fortwo would hold up well in a crash against even a Camry given simple physics of kinetic energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity^2?

 

If the car is rigid enough, which it is cos of the cage, then a fortwo would almost certianly be pushed out of the way one way or the other, not squashed. If a heavy car hits a heavy car, then there's loads more kinetic energy than if a light car hits a heavy one.

Did you read the enormous thread somewhere online (I forget) where some guy posted crash test pics of a Mini (new one) and a F150? They were both crashed into solid objects, but it showed that big cars aren't neccessarily safe (the passenger compartment in the truck was completely crushed, but was intact in the Mini). What was very interesting however was the amount of real-world stories people reported about crashes involving small cars and trucks. The moral of the story is that safety in crashes of all kinds is definitely NOT proportional to weight.

There was also a link to a table showing number of deaths in popular models - regardless of type of accident. The table showed no correlation between size and fatality rate.

I will try and find the page tonight and post a link.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 31 2006, 06:11 AM) [snapback]295021[/snapback]</div>

If a vehicle is too rigid, it will transmit too much force to its occupants thereforing increasing the possibility of serious injury or death.

It's funny you picked the Ford F-150. I wonder what model year it was. The 97-03 models did VERY poorly in the IIHS offset tests http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=7 whereas the 04-06 models did better http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=192.

 

It was the pre 2003 model.

We have plenty of trucks, lorries, vans and all sorts on our roads too by the way... Many accidents involve 44 ton articulated lorries, so it's something we do still have to worry about!

 

Ok, I was going to start a new thread for this, but then I saw this smart car thread, so I thought I'd just add onto this one.

I was just at the 2007 North American International Auto Show and the smart car had a huge crowd around it. It's really cool looking. Supposedly, pricing will start under $14,000 for the ForTwo. They are saying 50-60 MPG. I was intrigued enough to go home and look at their website. There is a whole section there on safety and the unique design of the steel safety cage. Intuitively, a tiny car like that would be less safe, but clearly some pretty serious thought has gone into safety for this thing.

It really is a very cool looking little car. I'm very tempted to sell our second, non-Prius car, and pick one of these up. The price is right, the fun factor is high...seems like the perfect back-up car to me. Ok, not totally perfect, because I am part of a family of 3...but when there is only one of the other two around, it seems perfect.

 

I recently read a article on the 2008 Smart ForTwo that had all the specs but I can't find it right now. From what I remember it will be available in 3 trim levels: base, premium, and convertible. I believe it started at $14K and topped at $20K. It will be only available with a 80 hp gasoline engine with a top speed of 90 mph and a combined fuel economy of 40 mpg.

The Smart ForTwo is a very safe car for it's size. Smart used to have video of a head on crash test between the ForTwo and a E-Class. The Smart did just fine.

Heavier cars are not safer than light cars! This is a common myth that just doesn't seem to die. F=MA This is physics and isn't going to change anytime soon. The force (F) that needs to absorbed by the vehicle increased as M (Mass) increases. What really effects the safety of the vehicle is A (acceleration). In automobiles, acceleration is dependent on how the unibody crushes and absorbs that acceleration. An Indy or Formula 1 car is an excellent example of a car absorbing crash energy. Everything except the drivers safety cell crushes and is destroyed to absorb energy and protect the driver.

Now it is easier to design crush zones into a larger car and as a car get larger the weight usually increases. But weight in and of itself is not a virtue especially if you are involved in a single car accident where you hit a immovable object like a concrete wall.

One thing the Smart has going for it is that it is rear engined. Since the engine is not in the front you have more area for a crush zone. In a front engine car, you have a almost incompressible engine that tries to punch through the firewall into the passenger compartment.

 

One of my neighbors has a black Smart Fortwo. He has had it since at least July, when I moved in. How is this possible? Can you just buy one in Europe and bring it over if your really die-hard?

The real kicker is that parked right next to it is a monstrous Mercades SUV, and I'm pretty sure it had either a V12 or W12 badge on it <_<

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonathan Rohr @ Feb 14 2007, 09:51 PM) [snapback]390626[/snapback]</div>

Zap motors sold European ForTwos that they modified to pass US regulation for about a year. Check out www.zapworld.com and search for Smart. They don't seem to be selling the Smart Cars now that they have the Xebra EV for sale.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jhinton @ Feb 14 2007, 06:35 PM) [snapback]390614[/snapback]</div>

I was no physics major in college but I think you're quoting the wrong formula. The important one is kinetic energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity^2 as I mentioned earlier. At a given velocity, a 5000+ lb. monstronsity SUV (think Yukon, Tahoe, Expedition, etc.) has a lot more kinetic energy than a ~1600 lb. Smart car or a ~3400 lb. Camry. If you're going to be hit by such a massive vehicle, you're in for a bad day.

If someone's about to hit you and sees you, they're going to slam on their brakes and have deceleration aka negative acceleration. When they hit you, do they do 0 or negative damage? No!

The average curb weight of 2006 model year vehicles in the US is now 4142 lbs per http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fetrends/420s06003.htm! You can see some other US light vehicle weight trends at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/LightTruckFleet.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/NewPa...gerCarFleet.htm.

On a side note, Smart plans to take $99 deposits in 60 days to gauge interest per http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...E/70212006/1528.