Letters to the Editor
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How I Felt When I First Saw The Smart Car
I first saw the Smart Car in Paris on a two and a half week Eurotrip. I stared at it for a really long time. I pointed. I laughed. Even if the SmartCar got better gas mileage AND gave me flowers on my birthday, I would point at it and laugh. It's really small. Like, really. They should have a person standing beside it for scale just to show how small it is. They should a show Shaq, a normal person, the Smart Car, and a midget, in that order. It's like, really really really small. You think it's about the size of a mini-cooper. It's not. It's not big enough for my library books and two gallon purse. It's not big enough for my midget. Until you see one in person, you will not realize how fully ridiculous they look. The only way this tiny tiny car will survive is if they get Nicole Ritchie in one pronto.
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A couple items...
"Why can't the Smart get 50+ MPG like my ?"
Simple: Weight. Today's cars have many, many more features than the barebones econoboxes of yesteryears. HVAC systems, sound insulation, general comfort amenities, etc., all those things are heavy. They add mass, but even they pale in comparison to the biggest culprit in adding bloat to the scales: safety equipment.
Airbags, crumple zones, chassis stiffening, all of that and more are the biggest reasons for the weight gain. They are also why if you get t-boned in a Smart (or any other modern small car on the road today) you should survive. Be in the same accident driving a 1986 Corolla and you're dead.
"Americans don't know anything about driving long distances like Canadians!"
:rolleyes: Rest assured that the vast majority of Americans who live in "fly-over country" are well aware of how far away most everything is. The United States is not defined by New England the West Coast. Please check your stereotypes at the border, thanks.
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Smart car
We need Americans to think small and green if we want to save this planet. Big gas guzzlers need to get off the road (I'm a runner who is tried of being choked by fumes)...I sold mine while it's still sell-able. Soon, anyone with a huge vehicle will get nothing in trade and will be stuck with it and paying near or over a hundred bucks at the pump to fill up. And think of how much those big tires cost? I know BIG gives little people (mind and body) a feeling of power! Please! You look silly!
This administration doesn't help but gives tax breaks if you buy huge...gee I wonder who they are working for and getting kick backs...would you say oil and auto? And what is with FORD and GM? Their thinking is in the past. Who wants a gas guzzling, rumbling 60's retro design. I sure don't. I live in the present and look forward to a clean, green future. Get wise...think Smart!
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My civic gets as much mileage...
I drive a Honda that gets 40mpg when I'm not using the air conditioning. Why would I want a death trap like the Smart Car?
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Still waiting for a perfect car
Everytime a new hybrid, miny, or electric car becomes available I seriously look into it. However I can still haul my groceries and my dog with just as good or better mileage by buying a Prius, a Corolla or a VW Golf. And the Toyotas will give me outstanding reliability over 200,000 miles.
True the overall green rating of these cars may be worse because of the factories they are built in and the amount of materials in them, but I can't get my dog into a smartcar because having him in the front seat won't work.
And what is it with these NEVs that only do 25 mph? You can't drive around Minneapolis doing 25 unless you want to be rear-ended.
My kingdom for a 65mph, 40 mile range, 4 star safety rating electric car with a back seat and trunk, under $30,000. Is that asking too much?
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Easy Parking Isn't a Good Selling Point
Most major cities have metered parking in their commercial districts or designated parking lots/garages. In either case the parking spots are designated with painted lines and are designed for standard-sized cars. It is very rare to find a street or parking lot with non-designated parking where you would be able to squeeze in without being ticketed or towed. It's unlikely that parking officials would look at that clever spot you found for your Smart car and think "ah, how creative - maybe I won't ticket them!" And no city is going to start creating Smart-sized parking spaced for a car that will have such a tiny market share. Everyone thought the Segway would revolutionize urban transportation too, but most urban centers don't allow motorized vehicles on sidewalks. I love the Smart car, but if I purchase one, I won't be deluded into thinking I'm going to be able to park where other cars can't.
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I've commuted in Dallas
When you are crawling along in Dallas's evening rush-hour traffic in August the official temperature (measured in the shade at the airport) might be only 105, but the temperature on the road out side your car may be more like 120 or higher. What kind of air conditioner does the Smart have, and how does it affect gas mileage?
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Best small car ever
The best small car ever made ceased production in 1991. It was the Honda CRX, a 2-seater. It got 40 MPG but because of its weight (less than 2000 pounds) and short stature (just 13 feet long) it was a little rocket. It wouldn't pass safety muster now (no airbags, no ABS, no steel panels in the doors, etc.), but Honda could update it and make a fortune. Honda quality, 40 MPG and fun to drive. How could it lose?
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We are so far behind
When visting Paris in 2002, I frst saw the Smart Car. I thought what a great vehicle for cities. They only hold 2 people, but they can park in such small spaces. I'm not sure peopel in the U.S can think sanmll. Many have been so used to driving their hunking, gas guzzling SUVs the past 10 years, and filling them up with unnecessary items from Costco. It was not only the Smart cars however.Teh casbs in Paris are all very modern, they looked small from the outside, but had plenty of room inside, and very comfortable, unlike the cabs in U.S. The other remarkable modern items was the toliets. I remember the days in Paris when yo had to stradle a Hole in the floor, even in fine resruants. The French however have even passed us up with pubic toliets. While eating in a small cafe in Canne, I went to the restroom, and as I passed though tthe kitchens ect, I was thinking oh god a hole in the floor would meet me. Instead I entered a very clean restroom, with very modern facilities. When finihied the toliet flushed, the lid folded up into the unit, automaticllly cleaned, adn then folded down again with a new platic seat coaver, ready for the next customer. I stood in amazement watching it.
I left France thinking how far behind we really are here.