new car coming to america

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by Silveredwings

OK, that was amazing. Looks like good build quality too.

Did you see the videos?

RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS

I laughed so hard...that thing is flying and sounds so badass, but looks SO funny whipping around the track like that.

The Smart Diablo is just nuts - sounds awesome but the engine right there?! The video is sweet though.

[zpiloto]

Originally Posted by theclencher

I'd let the Lambo go for $2000!!!

I can find cheap lil' ol' econo cars for a couple hundred bucks all day long! Either these trailer park people aren't looking, or they aren't looking for econo cars. Having rented to many of them I can comment on their financial acumen (I too have done some time in trailers):

If they have any money at all, top priorities are 1. booze 2. smokes 3. cable or satellite tv 4. pull tabs/bingo 5. aftermarket wheels, exhaust, and stereo systems 6. new snowmobiles/motorcycles, then............ way, way down the list, housing, utilities... ya know, the necessities of life.

Clench you were probably expecting this.

I'm glad I don't live in your neck of the woods where sweeping generalization are fact for everyone. I also have done my share of trailer time in the past and deal with some now and find this not to be always true.

I've been looking for a 5 speed encono car for 6 months( under 500) and still have not found one. Plenty of Chevy and Fords though.

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by zpiloto

I've been looking for a 5 speed encono car for 6 months( under 500) and still have not found one. Plenty of Chevy and Fords though.

ditto (only longer). I'd never buy a Smart at the same price, lower mpg, less than half the size, and probably less longevity of a Corolla. It's DOA.

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by DaX

You can already get the "Smartuki" with a 180 bhp Suzuki Hayabusa engine.

http://www.smartuki.com/home.html

On another note, what did they do with the front engine and drivetrain? Maybe they left it in and made a twin-engine job out of it (kinda like that CRX Si twin a few years back).

[Rstb88]

The smart car is actually going to start out at 9k$USD and I think i t maxes out at like 15-17k. Not bad for a car that has more safety features than many of the econo boxes you can buy. The smart forfour and roadster coupe have been discontinued. And the forfour has been sold out for months. the smartuki doesnt have a front engine, took out the three cylinder and the passenger seat and put the suzuki engine in its place. sounds like a good idea but i wouldnt want o do the regular maintainance on it. not to mention the inccredible noise that things going to make sitting right next to you

[thisisntjared]

i would be the smart coupe. it would be perfect for my commute to work. but if an electric car is available in 5 years then i will hold out for that

[repete86]

I'm not interested until they bring the European diesel version to the US. 40 mpg is a joke for that car, and I find it insulting that a car with the potential to get 60 mpg will only get 40 here and they're citing its efficiency.

[thisisntjared]

we dont know if thats 40mpg city, highway or combined. its a little less than a year away and definitely a shot in the dark. either way, i am anxious to see it over here and would consider buying one in the 2nd year. if youve been in one you would understand why.

[The Toecutter]

The smart car is actually going to start out at 9k$USD

If it's as low as $9k, it might actually get somewhere(albeit not very far). But I doubt it will sell more than 5,000 units a year even at that price.

I second the notion on a diesel version. If a diesel V8 could be shoehorned into a Roadster-Coupe, and turbocharged, I'd be all over that ****.

To get fuel economy recognized as important in the mainstream car business, it would be very wise to throw copious, almost disgusting amounts of performance to go with it. Otherwise, people just aren't going to get much exposure to it. Haven't seen too many ads for Geo Metros and Honda Insights over the years, have we? But if someone builds a 60+ mpg car that competes with $100k sportscars in acceleration, and sells it for ~$25k, it would be way too much of a leapfrog for the media to ignore it and word on the street would spread very fast.

[Rstb88]

Ilm going to retract my previous statement about the 9k$. I got that from multiple sources but today I saw a page that stated somewhere in 12K range. It made me doubt the others then I remembered, I got some of that information from the smart website. They stated it would be well under 11k$USD