[www.edmunds.com]

Yes or No?
And are you City or Suburban/Rural?

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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2007 06:05AM by Jp!.

No way I would dice it up with 18 wheelers on the highway with this baby carriage!

Smart looked good when gas was over $3 a gallon. Not now. It looks way out of place, and unsafe I might add, on American roads. I think it costs as much as the mini and I would take the mini anytime.

I'd rather go hybrid.

Noope. I don't need two cars, and the SC doesn't do it for me as an only car. Plus it looks like a death trap as Dakota says (especially with the drivers around here. Really would not want to be on the highway in one. This isn't Europe where people know how to drive at high speeds w/o being a maniac.)

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Dakota
Smart looked good when gas was over $3 a gallon. Not now. It looks way out of place, and unsafe I might add, on American roads. I think it costs as much as the mini and I would take the mini anytime.

The article says starting at an estimated $11k. That means the MINI cooper's base ($18.5k) is about 70% more.

And the Smart will get better fuel economy.

Not advocating it, just noting those items.

And from Blu's previous post, I'm thinking that if it was used primarily as an urban commuter, where one might not encounter both speed and large OTR truckers, it would be safe enough.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2007 07:23AM by Jp!.

My experience with a Mini Cooper has been good practice. Yes, if I lived in New York, Boston or in the crowded intown neighborhoods of Atlanta.

I would rent a midsize car for the occasional 200 mile trip.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2007 07:33AM by stephen.

No way am I going fit in it. Plus the safety factor makes it totally frightening.

As a 2nd car, yes. No way would something like that be my only ride.

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Honda Fit, Scion Xb, or Kia Rio? Sure.

Smart? Uh-uh, no way. Safety issues aside, I need a small wagon or hatchback.

Look at the Kia Rondo, too TSS.

Unacceptable...CR.

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A man who is of "sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
(Paul Valery)

The final authority on buying cars.

Was that CR for the NEW 2008 bigger, redesigned car shown in the article? or the old, smaller, less refined one? I'm guessing they made engineering changes for many things.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2007 08:33AM by Jp!.

It doesn't have enough space for my stuff for even a weekend trip. If they had made it longer with more space behind the seats, it would be worth considering.

I think most of you are underestimating it's safety (you're equating smaller size w/less protection). You should see the discussion we had about this recently. This particular vehicle provides exceptional crash protection. Besides, nothing will fair well agains't an 18 wheeler.

Nope - I am in a rural area and my home is 2 miles down what the county generously calls an "unimproved" road - sometimes gravel, sometimes mud.

SUV is the only appropriate vehicle for living here.

I've actually driven in a SmartCar for 5 days while in Greece.

It's way more roomy than it looks. So unless you are morbidly obese, don't worry about not fitting (your body). Plenty of leg room and head room. If you wanted to fit in groceries and packages.... that's another story. This car was extremely light, you can actually feel strong crosswinds pushing the car. Yikes.

It might be good for suburban commuters who need a car to drive the 1-2 miles trip from your house to the train station. Or just something to give the kids when they're in HS, so they can drive themselves to school. Will kids make fun of them? Maybe. But hey, if they don't want it. Forget it then. No car for you. Take the bus.

Yes, but only if I lived in the FL Keys where things happen at a slower pace and travel is kept to shorter distances.

I have a 6 mile commute each day on roads no faster than 40 MPH. This would be perfect for me. On longer trips I'd park it in the back of my truck.

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I'd be concerned the cow tipping enthusiasts might focus on these instead.

If it fits in the spot in the garage where the motorcycle used to be, I might.

This would have nice applications for me, too. But it would have to be a 'second' car.
Right now just one car suffices and the primary one has to have towing capabilities.

I'd CONSIDER it...

For my own personal use I'd need to answer the the following questions about it satisfactorily;

Will I fit in the thing? (deeply suspicous of that)
Can I afford it? (At $11K, no... at 6-7K I could probably swing it as a second car).
Can I afford the insurance and registration on a second car? (Nothing to do with the qualities of the CAR).

It would HAVE to be a SECOND car for me... I have a hard enough time fitting my gear for a rifle match out of town in my Pathfinder... there ain't NO WAY it's gonna fit in a Smart Car... even if you leave out the DRIVER!

Would be darn nice on my 18 mile one way trip to work every day...
But too many times I need CARGO SPACE, and once in a great while I actually DO need 4 wheel drive... so its "second car" or nothing.


I too would prefer a Hybrid...
In fact, I'm looking forward to the day when Nissan makes a Hybrid Pathfinder... and I can pick one up as a 3-4 year old USED model (I can't afford "new car" prices).

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Paul F.
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

You are foolish if you think just because you are riding in a 6,000 lb SUV that you are "safe" in a car crash. The last statistics I saw said that you are 4 times likey to die in a single car SUV crash because of the high incidence of rollovers.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

Yes.
City/Suburban.
1.5 mi commute to work.
I usually ride my bike or scooter.

Not for freeway, though.

The cabriolet model looks nice. But at 15K... ouch.

...if I was to have a second car. Not an option for me now, no place to park it.

I like the one on the right with the Starsky and Hutch looking version.

Goofy looking, but not bad. I wonder how much less safe (if so) than many popular American and import card this really is.

I'm betting that there are a lot of bigger cars that *aren't* as safe as many think, just assuming that bigger is safer.

The SUV arguments are many. I really like the view. Driving an Excape for a week was a lot of fun. I'd like to see a breakdown of SUV rollovers to see what percentage were /are caused by cirumstances beyond the driver's control, and what percentage were/are caused by the driver running out of talent.

And where are the Crossovers in the rollover rankings? There are one or two that I like, higher CG than cars, less than SUVs.

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Quote
RAMd®d
...if I was to have a second car. Not an option for me now, no place to park it.

There's always the sidewalk.

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In a heartbeat! They intrigue me I must admit. In fact, I asked that same question a while back at the "other place" and got much the same response then.

I sat in one of these cars at the L.A. Auto show last year and it's VERY roomy. It's big enough for two people and a week's worth of groceries or tennis rackets in the back. It will only take up half a parking space so you should be able to pay only half the parking fees in a garage.

And they are at least as safe as most heavier cars in ordinary crunch collisions. The body is actually a very well designed stiff cage and any side impacts invariably involve and are cushioned by either the front or rear wheels. There are websites showing head-on Smart car collisions with Mercedes and concrete barriers at speed and they fare well. Don't have any links to show you but you can look them up.

They were due here next year but with the rumored Mercedes/Chrysler breakup, I don't know if that still holds true. Roger Penske was to have the exclusive dealerships. They give upwards of 50-60 MPG highway, and the diesel versions (which won't be offered initially) 60-70 MPG.

They are a bit slow from what I've read and a bit dicey on the road. I think there's an excellent chance they'll be a success story since demographics indicate most households are now one or two people only. They would be ideal second cars or commuter vehicles since most of the latter usually carry only one or two people.

Nissan will produce two-passenger ELECTRIC (battery powered) vehicles in about three years. Don't know if they'll be available here or not initially, but if they do, count on Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and others to do the same. Chevrolet and Ford too.

We're going to see a revolutionary change in autos in the next few years due to worries about high petroleum prices and Middle Eastern production.

I would own one for commuting (40+ daily).

Anyone who's ridden motorcycles knows everthing is bigger than you out there and yet we continue to ride.

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“When a clown enters a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.”

...for two people and a week's worth of groceries or tennis rackets in the back.

EIther somebody's a very light eater, or they're really tough on tennis rackets.


Anyone who's ridden motorcycles knows everthing is bigger than you out there and yet we continue to ride.

Yes, we do! Excellent point, MA.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

RAMd®d said,

"...for two people and a week's worth of groceries or tennis rackets in the back.

EIther somebody's a very light eater, or they're really tough on tennis rackets."

Are you kidding? Take a look again at the Edmunds site above and look at photo 10. There's more than enough room for the above items and then some. ;)