Smart Car

[lethe]

i saw a bunch of them on my way down to the shore....
but none up here in NW CT.

i laugh at the smart trying to drive around here in the winter 

anyone know how they handle snow?

Really short wheelbase, rear wheel drive and very light. I picture a lot of spinouts in the corners. With snowtires on it it might not be bad, plus if you do slide into a ditch, you can just pick it up and place it back on the road.

[TiNi]

Really short wheelbase, rear wheel drive and very light. I picture a lot of spinouts in the corners. With snowtires on it it might not be bad, plus if you do slide into a ditch, you can just pick it up and place it back on the road.

no, you could!

i don't expect to see many in these parts...

[lethe]

no, you could!

i don't expect to see many in these parts...

It only makes sense as a city car. If all my driving was strictly in the city I would consider it because I could park in a lot of spots that I pass up now. However, I'd kill that thing within a year with the highway portion of my trip. I have nothing against a really little car but that one doesn't cut it.

[TiNi]

i agree, it's a great mild climate, city car 

[Duc Stamp]

Totally! I'd love to have a mini S. I here the sport package handles like a go kart. Unfortunately they are waaaaaaaay over priced. But yeah, want.

But the Smart car seems nice for running around town in those situations where you don't need top performance.

sac

If the mini is way overpriced, then the smart car's pricing is an abomination.  Even before markup those things are overpriced, but at 18-20K they are ridiculous.  Plus the gas mileage is pitiful for what it is.  A prius gets better mpg, not that I like the prius either.

[Goldeneye]

I took a quick ride in the Smart.  Yep, for the size and power you should get better mileage.  VW's TDI get 50ish mpg, in a car that's truly useful.

I think the Smart is more a status symbol, kinda like the Prius.   

[He Man]

wtf kin of status r you talking about?

[lethe]

wtf kin of status r you talking about?

The "look at me I'm saving the world" status.

[Bun-bun]

My wife and I looked at getting one for her back in February.

The Smartcar is an abominable piece of crap. Noisy, slow, and the trans takes a looooong time to shift between gears. You can paddle shift, and that is faster, but it's a semi-manual, not a semi-automatic, so you have to remember to paddle shift back down to first when you stop.

I bought a 2003  MINI Cooper S in '05 for $17.5k. Much better car, and with gas prices jumping, the resale price jumped too. I had a dealer offer me $17k flat for it last week.

I declined.

[He Man]

I still want a jeep wrangler with a propane conversion and a 4 inch lift kit with tires to match. Hot orange or sleek black.

[NAKID]

If the mini is way overpriced, then the smart car's pricing is an abomination.  Even before markup those things are overpriced, but at 18-20K they are ridiculous.  Plus the gas mileage is pitiful for what it is.  A prius gets better mpg, not that I like the prius either.

Where are they charging 18-20K for them? Last I saw they were about 11-13k...

[IZ]

The "look at me I'm saving the world" status.

Yeah..Seattle & Bellevue right there!!  Reminds me of the South Park episode when the snobs were sniffing their own farts.

[triangleforge]

The "look at me I'm saving the world" status.

Yeah, people just buy them to fit with an internalized self image -- COMPLETELY unlike the entirely rational souls who buy Hummers.  And now that I'm in Arizona ranch country, people must just not be as smart as they were back in Washington DC, because I see a whole lot more horse trailers and big fifth wheel RVs, but I hardly ever see dualie pickups, certainly not as many as I did back in the Northern Virgina suburbs.

FWIW, I used to own a first generation Prius back in Virginia, which made a great around town car, and was confusing as hell parked next to my mud-tired, rusty, 11 mpg 1973 Land Cruiser.

Unless you believe we should all ONLY buy (be allowed by the government to buy?) the most practical, rational car or motorcycle on the market, I hope you're every bit as sarcastic about pavement-bound Hummers -- which is where they generally belong, BTW. Of all the times a proud H1 or H2 owner would show up to off-road with us, not one managed to finish the whole run; they're just too long & too wide for tight east-coast trails. Land Rover Discos and Rangies only did a bit better...

Howzabout instead we all get to ride or drive what we like and can (mostly) afford, and let the market sort out the details?

[Bun-bun]

Yeah, people just buy them to fit with an internalized self image -- COMPLETELY unlike the entirely rational souls who buy Hummers.  And now that I'm in Arizona ranch country, people must just not be as smart as they were back in Washington DC, because I see a whole lot more horse trailers and big fifth wheel RVs, but I hardly ever see dualie pickups, certainly not as many as I did back in the Northern Virgina suburbs.

FWIW, I used to own a first generation Prius back in Virginia, which made a great around town car, and was confusing as hell parked next to my mud-tired, rusty, 11 mpg 1973 Land Cruiser.

Unless you believe we should all ONLY buy (be allowed by the government to buy?) the most practical, rational car or motorcycle on the market, I hope you're every bit as sarcastic about pavement-bound Hummers -- which is where they generally belong, BTW. Of all the times a proud H1 or H2 owner would show up to off-road with us, not one managed to finish the whole run; they're just too long & too wide for tight east-coast trails. Land Rover Discos and Rangies only did a bit better...

Howzabout instead we all get to ride or drive what we like and can (mostly) afford, and let the market sort out the details?

Ummmm. . .isn't that what we do now?

[DaniD]

I'm in Gaithersburg, MD (right outside of DC) and they have been selling them around here for a while.  You don't see many on the streets but they are starting to show up more and more.  I'll stick with my Wrangler.  It gets terrible gas milage but I love it and with no doors or top, it's not much of a sacrifice to not ride the bike!!!