Saw a Smart ForTwo today up close and personal

[jadziasman]

I went to Autozone today and low and behold there was a new black Smart ForTwo in the paint store parking lot across from the 'zone.

Man - that sucker is really small. Photos of it are really misleading - make them look bigger than they are in the flesh.
It is literally no longer than a Harley - it may even be shorter.

It's really amazing that that car conforms to crash test standards! It should get 60 mpg easy - why doesn't it?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

why not 60 MPG?

safety, emissions, overall weight.

I like the smart. it is really short but it sits up really tall and has a lot of room on the inside. I test drove one not too long ago. the mercedes dealership told me that it had the same crash test scores as a BMW M5. whether that is true or not, I can't say. before you judge the size too much, test drive one. I was very similar, I thought it was going to be really tight.

I was actually fine with that and was trying to convince my wife to get one so we test drove it. she currently has a honda element. she said it drove similarly to that. obviously not the overall length but the cabin room for the two ocupants.

my first car was a 3cyl geo metro so I am a little biased towards the little pickers.

[ShadowWorks]

You know in Scotland Pizza Hut use those Smart suckers instead of Scooters!

and boy those kids sure drive them fast, like whippets, and they do give great FE because its small, aero dynamic with a smallish engine.

[FLAteam]

It is my understanding that the crash test ratings used by the NHTSA are based on the size of the vehicle (curb weight, dimensions, I'm not sure). Thus, a 5-star rated small vehicle will have less crashworthiness than a 5-star large vehicle.

[Rayme]

They get poor MPG because "america doesn't want slow cars".

The smart here in Canada used the diesel and got awesome MPG. (0.8 litre diesel, 40 HP, can go up to 130 KMH). 51/60 is the US MPG rating if I convert its liter/100 KM.

The one we have now has the more powerfull gasoline engine. Quite the downgrade...

Now please stop bashing the car, it's the same reason we have 105 HP Honda fits and no option of the sub 100 HP engines all europe and Japan has. (And a whole lot of other cars). America always gets the **** end of the stick in both economy and powerful engine of the spectrum when it comes to imported cars.

I drove one of those diesel one and for town use, it's all you need. It reminds me of a scooter, you can drive the thing floored and you wouldn't hurt anyone.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/mc/06fortwo.htm

I really loved the thing actually, the inside didn't feel small (unless you looked at the back), and the stereo was descent(ahah), it didn't even feel cheap, just different, and everybody looks at you like you're driving a porsche (but not for the same reasons I suppose, lol).

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Dunno...seen a lot of crash test videos on YouTube...Smarts have fared quite well...a lot of larger vehicles didn't do near as well...

Originally Posted by FLAteam

It is my understanding that the crash test ratings used by the NHTSA are based on the size of the vehicle (curb weight, dimensions, I'm not sure). Thus, a 5-star rated small vehicle will have less crashworthiness than a 5-star large vehicle.

[GasSavers_BIBI]

a smart is maybe small, maybe expansive, maybe it doesnt have the mpg it should, but a least, it got a roll cage, that is why its kind of safe.

[SL8Brick]

I've been seeing them almost daily around the Philly burbs. A yellow one flew past me on the highway yesterday doing about 70mph. C'mon, what the point of investing in a decent FE vehicle if you're gonna drive like a maniac anyway?

[StorminMatt]

Originally Posted by jadziasman

It should get 60 mpg easy - why doesn't it?

Aerodynamics. Park that thing next to an old CRX, a Civic VX, or even a newer Corolla (all of which are more economical) and the first thing you will notice is that it is MUCH taller. And tall cars just don't cut through the air like shorter ones. This is CERTAINLY the reason why a car with a mere 70HP isn't as economical on the freeway as SO many larger cars. Remember that the Smart is a European car designed for European driving (ie lots of city driving, not much freeway driving). Americans, on the other hand, drive MUCH more on the freeway. So a lower, more aerodynamic car would be MUCH more beneficial here in the US.

[R.I.D.E.]

Besides increased weight cars have increased frontal area compared to my VX. This cancels out any aero improvements over the last 15 years. I think its a "height war" in response to the SUV flood over the same time period.

Aerodynamics is the key component in high speed driving. Reducing drag allows smaller engines and more transmission gears to improve mileage significantly.

I like the Smart because it is light, but the EPA ratings prove this point, aero is the solution and height destroys to potential for lower overall drag with the corresponding fuel penalty.

In the old days it was easy to see which car had the best aero value combined with frontal area. 70-80 MPH on 30 horsepower was good. and some did even better in the days when aero actually increases your top speed because your engine was small and underpowered, compared to today.


regards
gary