Smart Car Tipping

carjakester said:

You arent scared of not being seen? Getting blown over by a strong gust?

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Nope. Like I said, it's taller than a lot of other small cars which makes it easier to see.

I think too many people have scared into buying a car rather than buying on its own merits. But that's just me and ymmv.

carjakester said:

i can't help but to laugh when i see someone driving one of these things on the highway.

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When I see one, I just smile because they are so darn cute and I wish I had one.

Especially with gas prices now at $3.90 a gallon in my area.

Aspasia said:

When I see one, I just smile because they are so darn cute and I wish I had one.

Especially with gas prices now at $3.90 a gallon in my area.

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My 2013 nissan sentra gets up to 50 mpg on the highway sometimes. And i can fit 4 other people in it as well as storage in the trunk.

carjakester said:

My 2013 nissan sentra gets up to 50 mpg on the highway sometimes. And i can fit 4 other people in it as well as storage in the trunk.

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Oh, I'm quite content with my good old Toyota Matrix (five speed) which averages about 36 mpg around town in the summer, and close to 50 mpg highway driving.

Smart cars are thrifty vehicles but am guessing one would get bogged down in snow pretty quickly (do they make snow tires for them?) so I don't think it's an option for winter driving in my area.

Aspasia said:

Smart cars are thrifty vehicles but am guessing one would get bogged down in snow pretty quickly (do they make snow tires for them?) so I don't think it's an option for winter driving in my area.

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I've seen a number of them driving around Edmonton, Alberta during the winter. And yes, they do sell winter tires for them.

Aspasia said:

...
Smart cars are thrifty vehicles but am guessing one would get bogged down in snow pretty quickly (do they make snow tires for them?) so I don't think it's an option for winter driving in my area.

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Whitehorse to Inuvik… In the winter …. Link

" It can, with an experienced driver, handle the worst winter conditions to be found public roads in Canada. If it can handle the road to Inuvik in January, there’s no doubt in my mind that a Smart Fortwo can handle winter in your town."

That road is 1200km, for the record.

snberk103 said:

Whitehorse to Inuvik… In the winter …. Link

" It can, with an experienced driver, handle the worst winter conditions to be found public roads in Canada. If it can handle the road to Inuvik in January, there’s no doubt in my mind that a Smart Fortwo can handle winter in your town."

That road is 1200km, for the record.

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Now, that's impressive. My only concern is this comment:

Drifting snow was the culprit; it’s hard to see, and once you drive in deeper snow, the smart is pulled sharply off the road with little chance of regaining control. It’s unlikely that the cars could have freed themselves without a tow.

We've had 180" of snow here since November. Still two feet on the ground in the woods and loads of snowbanks still melting.

The snowplows don't hit my road until mid-morning. My Matrix (with four snow tires) can easily make the 2-mile trek to the main highway through up to 12 inches of fresh snow. Wonder if the Smart car could do the same in such conditions.

I've seen plenty of them driven around by the summer people over at Bay Harbor in Petoskey (a nearby town). But have never seen one on the road in the winter.

Aspasia said:

Now, that's impressive. My only concern is this comment:

Drifting snow was the culprit; it’s hard to see, and once you drive in deeper snow, the smart is pulled sharply off the road with little chance of regaining control. It’s unlikely that the cars could have freed themselves without a tow.

We've had 180" of snow here since November. Still two feet on the ground in the woods and loads of snowbanks still melting.

The snowplows don't hit my road until mid-morning. My Matrix (with four snow tires) can easily make the 2-mile trek to the main highway through up to 12 inches of fresh snow. Wonder if the Smart car could do the same in such conditions.

I've seen plenty of them driven around by the summer people over at Bay Harbor in Petoskey (a nearby town). But have never seen one on the road in the winter.

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Perhaps, you might need something like this:

dejo said:

Perhaps, you might need something like this:

Image

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What a hoot! Thanks for a great giggle!

Nothing funny about it. How would you losers like it if somebody tipped over your imacs?

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Aspasia said:

When I see one, I just smile because they are so darn cute and I wish I had one.

Especially with gas prices now at $3.90 a gallon in my area.

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The Smart gets disapointing fuel economy

I think just raising that plow would tip the car...

dejo said:

Perhaps, you might need something like this...

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Great. Now I want a Smartcar.

I like the face on them, too. Looks like Pac-Man if he were a smart ass. Maybe that's where they got the name...

While I don't agree with vandalizing or damaging someone's property, these Smart Cars are the stupidest pieces of crap I've ever seen and I've always thought about doing this.

I remember reading Consumer Reports once and the Smart Car was listed in the "5 Worst Cars" section. Made me feel validated. They aren't safe, you aren't some hero for the environment because you drive one.

When I read this story, I laughed.

EDIT: Though a Batman decorated version would be cool - as a trophy sort of thing and not as an actual everyday vehicle.

bradl said:

This would have been on his Halloween special, Minding the Monsters.

BL.

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Okay, that's awesome, and it's really tempting me to get one.

jrswizzle said:

I remember reading Consumer Reports once and the Smart Car was listed in the "5 Worst Cars" section. Made me feel validated. They aren't safe, you aren't some hero for the environment because you drive one.

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Consumer Reports didn't like them because of these reasons: "tiny, two-passenger cabin, a herky-jerky transmission, an under-powered engine". Nothing to do with safety or fuel economy.

By the way, the IIHS rates them Good or Acceptable (the two highest ratings) in crashworthiness. They're basically a roll-cage on wheels, thanks to the Tridion shell.

dejo said:

Consumer Reports didn't like them because of these reasons: "tiny, two-passenger cabin, a herky-jerky transmission, an under-powered engine". Nothing to do with safety or fuel economy.

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Who would have expected a tiny 2 seater car to have a tiny two person passenger cabin and a small engine!? Its certainly a shock to me.

jrswizzle said:

... these Smart Cars are the stupidest pieces of crap I've ever seen and I've always thought about doing this.

I remember reading Consumer Reports once and the Smart Car was listed in the "5 Worst Cars" section. ....

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Keeping in mind of course that they were designed to be safe enough by the Germans to drive on the unrestricted speed Autobahns ….

To each their own. Which is why I don't criticize your choice of car.

jrswizzle said:

(…)They aren't safe, you aren't some hero for the environment because you drive one.(…)

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Surely they give that impression of being unsafe, and while I hold no prejudice against most cars, I still feel at times uncomfortable driving these, mostly from others driving much too close and not being sure those anesthetized SUV drivers have actually seen me, even in the clear car2go livery. But I trust German engineering (though they sometimes have unexplained issues such as premature rusting) more than American judgment .

Your SUV gives the opposite impression of being safe, while it's quite the opposite: too high for their width, they easily tip over in an accident, not mentioning a danger to others since light trucks aren't subject to the same safety requirements as normal cars (an absurdity).

dejo said:

Consumer Reports didn't like them because of these reasons: "tiny, two-passenger cabin, a herky-jerky transmission, an under-powered engine". Nothing to do with safety or fuel economy.

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What's the point of criticizing a fuel-sipping two-seater made for non-obese people? Most people drive alone in their vehicle anyways. It's so tiny I had trouble the few first times I wanted to parallel-park, since rules learnt at driving school didn't apply to vehicles with a turning radius and length this small.

But I can only agree about the transmission I get sometimes better "eco score" using manual mode than their conservatively-tuned transmission.

They're basically a roll-cage on wheels, thanks to the Tridion shell.

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I guess that's why they look quite ugly compared to small cars made decades before, as well as very heavy for their sizes. Safety has a price, an esthetic one at least.