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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I've seen this in Paris off an on over the years, definitely by 2001 and possibly as early as 1996 or 1999. I wonder why it has taken so long to come to the United States?
My ideal car would look (and ride and act) something like this:
http://www.aerorider.com/en/aerorider.html
Check out the "Movie" page. This thing makes the SmartCar look like a Hummer! Too bad it costs even more.
If only some forward-looking gazillionaire would put some of those mothballed GM plants and laid-off GM workers back in business manufacturing a practical alternative to the commuter auto like this... And put it on the market for (say) under $2500...
Our 1998 Saturn SL/1 is bigger 176 vs 106 in, heavier 2,355 vs 1,609 lbs and is EPA-rated at only a slightly less efficient 28/39 vs 33/41 (which it easily sustains in practical use so it is not some mythical mismeasurement). That is 10 year old technology.
Yeah we can't park it in a motorcycle space, but why isn't this brand new technology blowing the doors off our old car? I am seriously underwhelmed.
You guys are right, child seats shouldn't normally be in the front -- but the Smart automatically detects whether there's car seat there (by weight), shutting off the airbags as necessary.
"I'm talking about *driving a car,* one of the most universal pastimes we have."
No, you're reviewing a car, and telling people it's revolutionary when, like ethanol, it's a big step sideways at best which you would know if you actually had a clue about the subject matter. We all eat, yet I would like to have a person who knows food tell me how to eat healthy, or an arborist to tell me how to prune a tree. You should be taken seriously in this context because, obviously, you know all about the universal pastime of driving a car? Please. Pastime? My dictionary says pastime is "an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work."
You see, Farad, most people in this ass-backwards country have to drive to work, because there aren't any other viable alternatives. I wish it were not so, but it is. This ain't a pastime, it's the way we have to live. And commuters are getting their asses kicked right now because fuel has gone through the roof.
We live in a period when, more that ever, people need to make intelligent choices about how they get around and Salon should take this seriously enough to have somebody who knows something about the "genre" pass on information about what's out there.
And by the way: in response to my post, wordsmith, genre means category, and in this case the category is small economy cars. The rapier wit demonstrated by your music reference tells me all I need to know about your credentials as a journalist, for you don't address the substance of what I said but rather tried to be entertainingly insulting.
But what the hell. I've learned not to take what Salon says seriously anyway, except for the work of Mr. Greenwald. He is a treasure. He's become the only reason I bother reading this thing; if only other contributors had the same standards for journalism that he does. This stuff ain't entertainment only. The truth actually matters.
So, let me get this straight. This car gets low fuel mileage, performs poorly and its only advantage is ease of parking in a dense urban area. However, one would be hard pressed to find a dense urban area where a car is necessary, so why would any rational person buy one? Especially when we have maybe twenty years to reduce our emissions in this country by 80-90% or face a very high probability of irreversible climate change tipping points being passed, purchasing a steel wheelchair seems positively insane.
If you want to look cute, get fit by getting out of the fossil-fool powered wheelchair mindset and move your hindquarters with your own muscle power. There really is no such thing as a sustainable car.
What a joke. The guy literally admits he has no qualifications to be writing reviews like this. I love how Salon's 'tech-review' has turned into this spoiled nobody playing with his Wii and driving around in circles.
And for God's sake, Farad, shave if you are going to do a video blog.
Living in Memphis, I've never been without a parking place. Not once. And a car that hesitates when pulling out into traffic is death-on-wheels here.
Plus, I remember a neighbor whose Citroen was constantly stolen as a joke by high schoolers. They would pick it up and cart it off.
Sounds like an idea whose time has come - in the city. Here, maybe not so much.
Most of these letter writers are missing the point completely, the Smart is not a 1-1 replacement for your current car, it is something else entirely and for many people it is a second/alternate use vehicle, often replacing a larger second car.
Here is Vancouver there are literally thousands and thousands of Smart cars and more than anything else the reason is PARKING PARKING PARKING, I often leave my Mazda3 at home and take the bus downtown to avoid the parking hell, Smart cars don't have that problem.
If you don't live in a city, this car is not for you. Like any other vehicle, it's not meant for everybody.
What qualifications do you want? I'm a journalist, have been so for many years, and I do the job with the intellectual honesty that entails. I'm not telling you what to buy. I'm detailing my impressions. You're free to disagree, of course, as well as provide your opinions on my grooming.
I drive a well-maintained, mid-90s Corolla with a manual transmission. I get 34 mpg in mixed-use driving, sometimes better. Granted, I'm exceeding the "ratings" for my car, but I'm not sure how--I cruise along at 75 or 80 on the freeway, just like everyone else around here, just like I poke along in second in local city traffic (just like everyone else around here).
From what I hear, new safety features add weight to cars. But it seems like Honda and Toyota have been pushing the envelope on mileage improvements, and I imagine they will continue to do so. It's disappointing that Smart, which is selling something even smaller than the Fit or the Yaris, can't match the mileage ratings.
Fortunately, my car has a few years left in it (another benefit of Toyotas--they run forever, and mine doesn't even have 100K on it, despite its age). Guess I'll wait for a plug-in hybrid or something.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
