So you Want a smart Car - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

LUVMBDiesels · #16 08-19-2009, 10:17 PM

Yeah, and the VW Polo Diesel gets 78mpg.

And it is a 'real car'

The wreck could never be a Smart, there is too much metal. They do have a Smart "frame" hanging on the wall of Euro Motors in Germantown, MD. It looks beefy, but about the size of an office desk...

They had two of them parked nose to tail in the lot and my SDL was longer then the both of them combined!

t walgamuth · #17 08-19-2009, 10:17 PM

We have PU company cars to use to get around campus. A couple of them are smarts. I have driven them a couple of times. I would probably not ever buy one because I don't get a car that small using nearly as much fuel as my 30 plus year old benz.

They drive like a much bigger car. It is really strange.

cscmc1 · #18 08-19-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

Yeah, and the VW Polo Diesel gets 78mpg.

Yup. I looked the Smart over at the Mercedes dealer in Garmisch last time we were in Germany, and had a good look at the Polo as well. Either, in diesel configuration, might be tempting if available here. Oh, and the Jeep Compass with the CRD was nifty as well!

Brian Carlton · #19 08-19-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscmc1

I have no argument with the quality of the engine, but it gets crap mileage. My Jetta does as well (or better). Why would I sacrifice 2 doors and a trunk with no gain in economy whatsoever? Don't the diesels get close to 70mpg? Now THAT would be worthwhile!

I'd love to have a Smart car for one specific reason.............finding a parking place in NYC with a vehicle that's less than 9' would be simply fabulous. This compares with the 18' SDL..........I can sometimes search for one hour.

Of course the tradeoff is making the 60 miles without getting killed.............

LUVMBDiesels · #20 08-19-2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

I'd love to have a Smart car for one specific reason.............finding a parking place in NYC with a vehicle that's less than 9' would be simply fabulous. This compares with the 18' SDL..........I can sometimes search for one hour.

Of course the tradeoff is making the 60 miles without getting killed.............

I would be afraid in NYC, just like on the highways. i have a friend (My Chiropractor) who has a Mini and her car was run over by a garbage truck with her in it! The truck driver did not see her car and made a right turn fro the middle lane. The truck ran right over the hood of her car, just missing the passenger compartment by inches. She was lucky not to be crushed. If it was a Smart, she would have been in the path of the truck and you know that no Smart is going to stand up to the side and rear wheels of a NYC garbage truck!

Only way I would want one is to be the middle car in a motorcade -- made up of Tahoes

Brian Carlton · #21 08-19-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

and you know that no Smart is going to stand up to the side and rear wheels of a NYC garbage truck!

Although you'll disbelieve it, your SDL won't fare any better than the Smart car..........and, might actually do worse............the Smart car might have a stiffer passenger compartment.

davestlouis · #22 08-19-2009, 11:08 PM

And good luck finding 3-lug aftermarket wheels for a Smart...

t walgamuth · #23 08-20-2009, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Trucks always win no matter what car your in. Avoid being close to them at all time.

x2. In the above situation I am not sure my Big Dog Dodge pickup would have fared much better. The frame is strong but the body, I bet is not as good as any benz car.

LUVMBDiesels · #24 08-20-2009, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Although you'll disbelieve it, your SDL won't fare any better than the Smart car..........and, might actually do worse............the Smart car might have a stiffer passenger compartment.

Brian, I hear you, but I bet the driver of the truck would see the SDL before he saw that Smart.

Also if he ran over the SDL like he ran over my friend's Mini, he would not run over the passenger compartment. In a Smart the whole car is the passenger compartment!

OK, I would buy a Smart IF I could stuff an OM617 into it

I bet that engine weighs more than the whole Smart car!

As for the stiff passenger compartment, I thought we wanted large crumple zones to absorb impact. The Smart cannot have those. If the car is too stiff, you have a car that survives an accident but people who do not. I would rather sacrifice my car then my family...

I just think they are dangerous especially on roads like I66, I270, I95, I81, and the dreaded Beltway!

Txjake · #25 08-20-2009, 08:51 AM

smart cars aren't

cscmc1 · #26 08-20-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

I'd love to have a Smart car for one specific reason.............finding a parking place in NYC with a vehicle that's less than 9' would be simply fabulous. This compares with the 18' SDL..........I can sometimes search for one hour.

I'll grant you that, but it would serve me no purpose. I do not live in nor frequently travel to metropolitan areas. They are excellent "city cars," and I might even consider one if my local commute weren't something I could bike so easily (and if they'd send the diesel over).

cscmc1 · #27 08-20-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Although you'll disbelieve it, your SDL won't fare any better than the Smart car..........and, might actually do worse............the Smart car might have a stiffer passenger compartment.

Agreed. The crash test footage is incredibly impressive.

compu_85 · #28 08-20-2009, 09:03 AM

In a crash Smart cars use the other car's crumple zone

-J

WVOtoGO · #29 08-20-2009, 11:14 AM

You have to weigh some odds on that one before you use it as a buying guide for a safe car.

The odds of being sandwiched between two dump trucks are probably close to the same odds of going off a cliff and dieing. No matter what car/truck/tank you happen to be in.

If you rolled off a cliff in a W123, Volvo, 3500 truck, one of those 2 dump trucks, M1 Abrams .... Would we claim them to be an unsafe vehicle when you died?

- Shelby

pawoSD · #30 08-20-2009, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

I would be afraid in NYC, just like on the highways. i have a friend (My Chiropractor) who has a Mini and her car was run over by a garbage truck with her in it! The truck driver did not see her car and made a right turn fro the middle lane. The truck ran right over the hood of her car, just missing the passenger compartment by inches. She was lucky not to be crushed. If it was a Smart, she would have been in the path of the truck and you know that no Smart is going to stand up to the side and rear wheels of a NYC garbage truck!

Only way I would want one is to be the middle car in a motorcade -- made up of Tahoes

The smart car has such a rigid passenger cell that it would probably just be shoved out of the way by such an impact....there's no hood to get run over, the whole car would have just been pushed aside (and spun around) They are quite safe.....I'd drive one. It really is too bad that there are no diesel ones around though. I'm sure that one could obtain the rear "powerpack" in diesel form through shady means, and have it shipped to their residence, bolt it in, and have a diesel smart!