If I have the money when they're released, I would definitely drop whatever it is that I'll be driving then and get one. It would make trips into Chicago and across the region much better than it is for me right now.
I believe in making full use of what you have. So dropping something just to get the latest fad is not always a good idea. Good fuel milage has been around for a long time. I had a 73 MG Midget, it got 48mpg. Of course at that time it ran on regular leaded gas ($ .29 a gallon). If the public demands it, someone will provide it. In the US we have called for more room, horse power and cup holders. So the car makers have provided us with these. Once we demand better mileage and emissions, the car makers will start giving us choices. If we pick our current models, then change will be slow. I just don't believe in changing/spending just to help the car makers deliever a half thought out project. When they have come out with something really innovated then I might help them out. Till then I buy according to my needs.
The problem is that we have failed to get smaller. Reduce weight and gain fuel mileage. Instead, we are freekn waste hogs and we like everything big. Imagine how much material we could have saved by having cars 2/3 the size they are now on average.
Cars used to be smaller. Then the fuel crisis of the 70's and 80's abated, and then, in the 90's consumer advocates and automobile marketing went crazy over collision safety. The thing is that with safety, there's a chicken and egg problem, since side impact braces, 8 airbags, and the works take up a lot of weight. There's absolutely no reason for a Volkswagen Jetta to be 3000+ lbs aside from safety.
I said that roadways are so efficient and well-designed in phoenix that our new mass transit system will slow traffic down, causing worse fuel economy and being a detriment to the environment.
There's no way that an average size American could fit into one of those Hot Wheel cars. I'm six three, and couldn't do it. One of the reasons that I don't own a Corvette Z-06 is because of that.
Plus, if a ten speed biker hit you, you'd be toast in that smart car.
Not completely true, the Smart Car was designed with the coconut in mind (because coconuts are good at taking blunt hits apparently). It uses triple-steel caging.
Links 1-5 below shows a crash test done in the standard IIHS-HLDI style (offset crash on drivers' side). You can see how much better the smart car holds up compared to the other car:
This video below shows a smart car running full force (around 75 mph) into a solid concrete barrier, you can see how well the interior has held up, BOTH DOORS EVEN OPEN afterwards, though only the passenger door can still close afterwards. The glass also did not shatter, considering how little space there is in the front of the vehicle.
Dude. The Corvette, Camaro, & Trans Am have had aluminum block v8's that get more than 30 mpg and over 320 hp at the wheels since 1997. No one, I am mean no one, has a better cylinder head design than Chevrolet. Quality of their cars is another story.
Hmm... 5.7L and 320 peak HP and you're talking about good head design? I'm actually trying to think of a car that has a worse head design!
And the 30 mpg is a ideal dream situation.
Quote:
Even me, I have a 99 Z28 (400 hp at the wheels/29 mpg)
400 hp at the wheels for a 5.7L engine is one step up from the absolute lameness of the stock 320 HP at the crank.
Quote:
I could really fly at the drag strip. hahaha
At the drag strip, only jet power will give you any serious results.
well, we are finally moved into ottawa (and out of louisiana), and this thread is of interest because i have seen a TON of smart cars, as well as all of your smaller cars like the yaris, matrix, aveos, etc. (even beetles, so my wife and i have two of the most popular cars in the area -- matrix and beetle -- whereas we were dwarfed by the constant barrage of suburbans, hummers, escalades and the like in our old neck of the woods).
small cars pay for themselves in one area, as far as i am concerned... finding city parking. so many times, a spot between two badly parked cars will go unused because you'd have to be a stunt driver to pull off the parallel, but smaller autos like the ones described above can fit in a friggin' phone booth. the time i waste trying to get into and out of downtown areas quickly for errands is ridiculous when i am in a slightly larger rental car.
heck, i'd even consider a vespa if it wasn't unusable 3-4 months of the year up here (weather).
The problem with Ottawa and Diesels is that it get so damn cold that sometimes the heater that keeps the diesel from being sludge isn't enough.
Don't they start out at under $15,000 US here in the states? That is pretty freekn cheap.
Ummm...I can get a car for~$1500, put ~$500 and a weekend with a buddy into fixing it up, including a nice detailing, and another ~$800-1000 putting in a stereo, GPS and sat radio and have a kick-ass small car (think Monte-carlo or the like) doing ~30MPG with all the luxury features for under $4000, so why buy a new car?
We just dried out from Tropical Storm Ernesto out here. On Friday, the Norfolk Naval Base didn't put the word out to not come in, so around 8 am they let everyone go. Now the roads on the base are crap, to say the least. If you spit on them, they will overflow. I saw at least 30 cars FLOATING in the middle of the roads on the base.
I drove my 2005 Durango right past them and left the base.
This is one reason that not many people drive these Mattel Smart cars.
I have a 4-Runner that does the same in the near monthly mini-floods we get down here. I'd still like a SMART car. Floods are events, not the norm. All these cars have their place. But, no one should be forced to drive something they don't want to.
Comments
The problem is that we have failed to get smaller. Reduce weight and gain fuel mileage. Instead, we are freekn waste hogs and we like everything big. Imagine how much material we could have saved by having cars 2/3 the size they are now on average.
Cars used to be smaller. Then the fuel crisis of the 70's and 80's abated, and then, in the 90's consumer advocates and automobile marketing went crazy over collision safety. The thing is that with safety, there's a chicken and egg problem, since side impact braces, 8 airbags, and the works take up a lot of weight. There's absolutely no reason for a Volkswagen Jetta to be 3000+ lbs aside from safety.
But for 15,000 dollars (pretty good price point IMHO) it puts up against some more main stream/practical vehicles like the VolksWagen Rabbit.
- $14,990
- 22 MPG city
- 30 MPG HighWay
- Considerably more room
- 2 Door (4 Door Avail. but higher price)
Its not quite as good on gas but makes up for it on Accessibility.Uh.....? But, uh, well....uhhh, what?
I said that roadways are so efficient and well-designed in phoenix that our new mass transit system will slow traffic down, causing worse fuel economy and being a detriment to the environment.
There's no way that an average size American could fit into one of those Hot Wheel cars. I'm six three, and couldn't do it. One of the reasons that I don't own a Corvette Z-06 is because of that.
Plus, if a ten speed biker hit you, you'd be toast in that smart car.
Not completely true, the Smart Car was designed with the coconut in mind (because coconuts are good at taking blunt hits apparently). It uses triple-steel caging.
Safety Info Here
Links 1-5 below shows a crash test done in the standard IIHS-HLDI style (offset crash on drivers' side). You can see how much better the smart car holds up compared to the other car:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
This video below shows a smart car running full force (around 75 mph) into a solid concrete barrier, you can see how well the interior has held up, BOTH DOORS EVEN OPEN afterwards, though only the passenger door can still close afterwards. The glass also did not shatter, considering how little space there is in the front of the vehicle.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...79&q=smart+car
Dude. The Corvette, Camaro, & Trans Am have had aluminum block v8's that get more than 30 mpg and over 320 hp at the wheels since 1997. No one, I am mean no one, has a better cylinder head design than Chevrolet. Quality of their cars is another story.
Hmm... 5.7L and 320 peak HP and you're talking about good head design? I'm actually trying to think of a car that has a worse head design!
And the 30 mpg is a ideal dream situation.
Even me, I have a 99 Z28 (400 hp at the wheels/29 mpg)
400 hp at the wheels for a 5.7L engine is one step up from the absolute lameness of the stock 320 HP at the crank.
I could really fly at the drag strip. hahaha
At the drag strip, only jet power will give you any serious results.
Hmm... 5.7L and 320 peak HP and you're talking about good head design? I'm actually trying to think of a car that has a worse head design!
And the 30 mpg is a ideal dream situation.
400 hp at the wheels for a 5.7L engine is one step up from the absolute lameness of the stock 320 HP at the crank.
At the drag strip, only jet power will give you any serious results.
Jet power? Watch much NHRA?
Show me a better motor off the floor that lays down 430 to the wheels and gets 25 plus MPG (LS7).
The LS1 is 10 year old technology, really it is older than that.
The LS7 is today.
well, we are finally moved into ottawa (and out of louisiana), and this thread is of interest because i have seen a TON of smart cars, as well as all of your smaller cars like the yaris, matrix, aveos, etc. (even beetles, so my wife and i have two of the most popular cars in the area -- matrix and beetle -- whereas we were dwarfed by the constant barrage of suburbans, hummers, escalades and the like in our old neck of the woods).
small cars pay for themselves in one area, as far as i am concerned... finding city parking. so many times, a spot between two badly parked cars will go unused because you'd have to be a stunt driver to pull off the parallel, but smaller autos like the ones described above can fit in a friggin' phone booth. the time i waste trying to get into and out of downtown areas quickly for errands is ridiculous when i am in a slightly larger rental car.
heck, i'd even consider a vespa if it wasn't unusable 3-4 months of the year up here (weather).
The problem with Ottawa and Diesels is that it get so damn cold that sometimes the heater that keeps the diesel from being sludge isn't enough.
Don't they start out at under $15,000 US here in the states? That is pretty freekn cheap.
Ummm...I can get a car for~$1500, put ~$500 and a weekend with a buddy into fixing it up, including a nice detailing, and another ~$800-1000 putting in a stereo, GPS and sat radio and have a kick-ass small car (think Monte-carlo or the like) doing ~30MPG with all the luxury features for under $4000, so why buy a new car?
I drove my 2005 Durango right past them and left the base.
This is one reason that not many people drive these Mattel Smart cars.
hug's, Jenny.