Smart car doesn't look too clever

Thisislondon.co.uk ^ | 2/16/05 | add925

[add925]

IT'S Smart but it's certainly not clever, and it has cost Daimler-Chrysler more than e2bn (£1.4bn) since its launch. Now the question is: how much longer will the carmaker continue to underwrite the underperforming Smart car?

Heralded as the future of urban personal transport when it was launched in 1998, the car was environmentally friendly, ergonomically appealing and space efficient.

But DaimlerChrysler's unique minicar has been revealed in the German media as a costly failure with 2004 losses of about e600m, making the overall dent in its creator's pocket up to e2bn.

[add925]

[antiRepublicrat]

I guess its ok if you have no family, no kids, no friends, no dates and never have to carry a load bigger than what you could fit on a bicycle.

My friend and his wife can do a full shopping trip in theirs. From experience, I can say it easily fits four cases of German beer, and that's important, right?

[Ben Hecks]

Looks like a rebodied BMW Isettta....the one with the single door on the front and the steering column that pivoted with the door. LOL!

[TheRatHunter]

Anyone realize that with a car that small, you might as well have a piece of paper between you and an oncoming car?

At least with a larger vehicle, you stand a chance. Bet that thing doesn't offer full airbag coverage.

[gridlock]

I could see getting one of these as a second "town" car to run back and forth to the train station and such. I would still need a large family car for driving on the interstate and for longer trips, however. But for a second car for a two car family, it might just fit the bill.

[antiRepublicrat]

We saw some really goofy little things in France that were about this size, and wondered about survivability.

The goofy things in France are deathtraps. Some serious safety engineering went into these cars, making them as safe as your standard compact car here.

[JayB]

While I agree with most that this looks ridiculous, I did some reading on it before and noticed that they actually did a fair amount of work in survivability. The passengers are actually in a sturdy roll cage. The rest of the car is just a big crumple zone. So the passengers should survive the accidents the passengers of compact to mid-sized cars would survive. The car, however, might not do so well.

[Trailerpark Badass]

I thought this was the 'Spare Tire' for the Maybach.

No, it's the dinghy.

[Charles Martel]

DaimlerChrysler, eh? Well, if they stuff a Hemi in it, I might be interested. Of course, I'd probably have to ride on top... ;-)

[SMARTY]

I read about this car a couple years ago. I would buy one. Lots of GOOD sensible selling features.

[rwfromkansas]

You could barely pack anything into that little piece of junk.

[mpreston]

The more I look at the roadster the more I think they have something here. Looks like a Honda civic but if you scroll through all the body options the kids would love it.

http://www.thesmart.co.uk/index.html

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

like this?

[Pete'sWife]

I'd rather have the Isetta. It has more "character."

[sionnsar]

I'd buy the car pictured above-left if it arrived here.

They recently got clearance to import them here.

[dfwgator]

Smart car...stupid driver.

[RadioAstronomer]

The wildest car I ever owned was a 1973 Pantera-DeTomaso.

Hmmm... Nope, even on second thought I would not trade the Pantera for this squashed bug they call a car.

[antiRepublicrat]

The problem they might have is that the roadster is 80 bhp.

But the curb weight is only 1,700 pounds. The Lotus Elise is a world-class sports car at that weight with only 50% more horsepower.

[television is just wrong]

exactly. My son loved that car. However today he couldn't put his large size 13 into it.

[sionnsar]

It would be easy to park. You could fit that thing into any space!

Many years ago I had a Honda 600 Coupe (a little bit larger than this, I think, but not much). Actually did park it underneath a semi trailer (no tractor) once -- for a few minutes' run into a store.