Anyone ready for THE SMART CAR?

[Bennyboy]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3458532&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[swimboy]

1. I'm planning to get one.

I think this link works.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3458532

[Aristus]

2. My brother ordered one a while back. He takes delivery in January.

That'll be fun! B-)

[Bennyboy]

3. But why is it...

That car only gets 60 miles to the gallon. I ahd one of those little Honda cars back in the sevenites an it got 60+ and was all steel. Not really getting it why the milaegae is so low. Seems to me there should be acar doing better than that...

[dannofoot]

4. YES!

I visited France for the first time in May, and my first impression was that they were sort of a novelty...after two days I realized that they were everywhere. Despite the small engine size, Parisiens I spoke with said that they were great on the highways, had good acceleration, and of course, parking is a cinch. I saw a great array of colors and trim packages too.

Yeah, I'm ready for one...an engine by Daimler and design by Swatch? Who wouldn't want one?

[billyskank]

5. They use a turbo to boost the power of the little engine.

It's a three-cylinder 37 cu.inch lump, mounted behind the seats.

[Call Me Wesley]

6. They are soooo yesterday. ;)

[enigmatic]

7. ha!

They are all over the place here in Edmonton and have been for a couple years; one of my neighbors has one. Tooling around in one in the middle of a Western Canada is an adventure, though:D

[Call Me Wesley]

8. That's a friend's Smart.

Heidi terribly wants one, but I can't get really warm with them. They're cute, but they're tiny. If you're in a car accident with them, you're probably toast.

Hi, bro! :hug:

[hfojvt]

11. supposedly they have a sturdy frame that protects you

First time I saw a 'flea' was in Switzerland. I thought they should be marketing them in the states too. Sounds kinda like they are bulking them up though. By the time the auto industry here gets done they will probably only get 33 mpg and that will be advertised as 'awesome'.

[ghostsofgiants]

12. They're fairly common out this way, too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Only if they pass a law making it mandatory for all the fucking stupid people

[QMPMom]

10. They are all over the place here in Edmonton. I think they are cute, but

a bit impractical for a family of 4...soon to be 5 (son's friend is moving in) and a huge dog. LOL!

[u4ic]

16. Yep, I've seen them here for years

They might come in handy, being able to drive underneath all those flippin' monster trucks on the road! :P


Hi QMPMom! :hi:

[QMPMom]

17. I'd be afraid I'd lose the thing in one of the damn potholes

these days!

Hi u4ic! How are you?:hi:

[u4ic]

18. Excellent point!

:rofl: You could be driving along Jasper Ave, and suddenly find yourself in China. :silly:

I'm doing good, QMPMom! I'm sitting here in a winter sweater (brrrrr), and really am wanting that heat back. Ack! I must be getting senile in my old age. :crazy:

How are you?:hi:

[QMPMom]

26. I'm doing well. I was wrapped up in a

very heavy sweater at work all day today. And the darn machine kept rejecting my money when I tried to buy coffee to get warmer! Have you been to Riverbend lately? Nice, new, paved streets there, don't ya know. Grrr!

[u4ic]

28. They just put the heat on in my building

and I needed it in my car today, the windshield kept on fogging up. x(

Lots of places in the south side have been paved. I haven't been to Riverbend as of late, but where I am, lots of newly paved road is appearing. There were potholes for a few years in some cases, so it's about time. Here's hoping your area gets done soon. :pals:

[salin]

13. a friend's hubby is on the wait list...

she is looking at a Prius, for herself.

Me, I'll stick with my Prius (I love it! And I tend to drive cars for ten years which means I have 8.5 more on this car - so who knows what will be available at that time.)

[AntiCoup2K08]

14. They can make whatever safety claims they want

But there's no way in Hell I'd drive one of those on a freeway.

City driving or back roads though, absolutely. Assuming I could actually fit in the damn thing.

[Kutjara]

21. Unless you're 7' tall, you'd fit fine.

They have as much leg and head room as a Merc S-Class. I used to drive a 6'7" friend in one and he said it felt more roomy than his full-sized car.

[dancing kali]

15. I already have one

I love it. Bought it two years ago. Reminds me
of my old bug. It makes me smile every time I get
into it.

60mpg on a 15 litre gas tank. That's about 4 gallons.
I fill up every 400km or so.

Runs on diesel (I'm looking
for a place to get bio-diesel).

Turns on a dime. Short wheel base means it doesn't need
lots of room to turn around in. Easy to parallel park.

A little slow when starting out from a dead stop but
jackrabbit starts aren't everything. Once it gets
going it's fine. I just can't do quick merges onto
the highway.

Airbags all over the place. Which means it's not
a car for children. There's a little warning tag
with a child in a rear facing car seat in a "no" symbol.
However, a two-seater isn't really a "family oriented vehicle".
Since I'm amongst the childless by choice, this isn't really
an issue for me.

I feel very safe in it. It was a little disconcerting to
be sitting at a stoplight and having a truck pull up behind
me at first. That truck was where I would usually consider
the rear seats or trunk to be. I don't notice that anymore.
I do still get a little nervous when I get hit in a crosswind...
it gets blown around like my bug used to.

I can get 9 (paper) grocery bags into the boot. I've packed
it full for a weekend trip. Roof racks are available for it.

Handles well in snow.

No problem going up steep hills.

6'+ husband has lots of leg and headroom.

Nobody asks me to move things for them anymore (I used to
drive a pick-up).

It doesn't have the clearance that a bug did. I wouldn't
want to drive it on some of those back roads in West Virginia
I used to drive my bug on.

It has a semi-automatic transmission. I still shift but there
isn't a clutch. The shift is tap it forward to shift up and back
to down shift... I've been told it's kind of like the way one
shifts a motorcycle. It has a little idiot icon that comes up
on the dash which lets you know when to shift if you've never
driven a manual transmission. I had a loaner one when I had mine
in for it's maintenance check. It had a button on the side of the
stick shift which switched it into fully automatic.

Like I said... I love it. I think it's a great car.

[Robb]

19. With a little practice, I could probably ride a trials bike over it

...at about the same gas mileage. :D

[blondeatlast]

20. I drove a freind's convertible one in Dresden and LOVED it.

When my son is large enough to sit in the front seat (coming very soon), I'm all over this thing! What fun!

[Kutjara]

22. Yep! I've had my deposit down for months.

I drove one in England for five years and can't wait to get another one.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. I'd get one

Seems more affordable than a Prius.

But I'd prefer to have no car at all.

[tammywammy]

24. I would have gotten one if they were available when I bought my Beetle

I love my Beetle. Right now I might be talked into trading it in next year for the Rabbit diesel, but I don't think I can go as small as a Smart. I do like them a lot though.

[Initech]

25. Hell no.

I wouldn't want to get in an accident in one of those, especially on California highways. I'm taking delivery of my new Altima next week (which gets an excellent 35 MPG considering it's a mid-size sedan), so I definitely wont be getting one.

[ChaoticSilly]

27. My sister wants one

She says that if it ever runs out of gas she can just put it in her pocket and walk home

[taterguy]

29. Isn't that an oxymoran? :)