Posted on 11/19/2007 9:00:06 AM PST by Slapshot68
"The Smart's base price is $11,590, and a fully loaded Smart Fortwo Passion convertible goes for $16,950. The 1,800-pound car gets 40 miles per gallon."
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
That is NOT a good thing for the passengers in the smaller car.
What that means is that instead of the impact of the crash being shared between the two vehicles, the little car took the brunt of it.
When the little car was struck it instantly accelerated to a much higher speed close to what the truck was going, and then they both decelerated as the little car was pushed 30 feet. Rapid acceleration is just as hard on passengers as rapid deceleration.
When two vehicles of similar size collide in that fashion the passengers in both vehicles share the effects of the collision much more equally. The one vehicle decelerates because it is now pushing the weight of the other vehicle in addition to it's own weight.
Larger cars also have crumple zones when hit from the front or the rear. The body is designed to crumple and spread the impact over a longer period of time, which reduced the effects on the occupants because they don't experience as great of a spike of acceleration.
There's no space for significant crumple zones in a car that small. The force of the impact can be reduced by air bags, which also spread out the impact spike over time to reduce the effects, but you are still taking the brunt of the impact and have less ability to mitigate it.
Even if they form an impenetrable cage around you, it doesn't do you any good if you get splattered on the inside of that cage.
That’s a beautiful Isetta. I was hitchhiking as a kid and got picked up by a guy driving one during a snowstorm. It was weird because it made four ruts(tire tracks) in the snow. It beat walkin’.
You critics are making a lot of assumptions. I read about this vehicle a few months ago while car shopping. It has a decent structural cage designed to protect the passengers. IIRC, it gets closer to 60 MPG, not 40. Yes, a vehicle that weighs 3 times as much is safer. However, we should just let the consumer decide whether gas mileage or extra safety is more important. BTW, I bought a Toyota pickup that gets twice the mileage that my Ford got before. There’s nothing wrong with conservation. At least I send only half as much money to the OPECKERS as I used to.
How hard would it be to roll one over?
Apparently, during an accident, they are dribbled like a huge basketball by the other vehicles.
First one to put her in the hoops, wins.
If they reinforce the outside, that just means the occupants get splattered on the inside in a serious crash.
They can't change the laws of physics. If two objects collide, the one with the least mass will take the brunt of the impact. It will experience the greater acceleration / deceleration.
They can lessen the impact felt by the passengers by spreading out the force over a longer period of time. This is done through crumple zones (which there aren't room for much of in such a tiny car) and air bags. Having to build such a solid frame to protect the passengers from objects intruding into the passenger compartment actually works against them when trying to lessen the overall felt impact.
If they allow it to crumple more to reduce the overall felt impact, they risk having the passengers squashed.
The simple fact is that if you're in a tiny, lightweight vehicle, you are going to take the brunt of the impact in a collision.
A rigid frame and airbags is probably the best way to minimize the effects on the passengers, but you are still much safer in a more substantial vehicle.
It's fun until you hit an 8ft tall lamppost on the sidewalk...seen it happen in city traffic over here in Europe...tore the whole front end off of the smartcar...the driver and passenger were hurt pretty bad....hit something at 30 "clicks" per hour and the odds are you're gonna end up dead...
Quote of the day!
The scenario you’re describing is true of just about any vehicle where the occupants are not restrained. The airbags do not actually absorb much of the energy from a collision; their main purpose is to hold the occupant in place. Crumple zones help by reducing the acceleration from a collision, but if the occupants are not wearing seatbelts then the vehicle will be a deathtrap regardless of size or safety features.
I agree with that. Look, folks ride their bicycles around too.
You are right!
4. Every car made today is heavier than the equivalent model from 15-20 years ago. Bigger engines, bigger wheels, side impact protection, airbags, etc, etc. All that stuff adds weight and/or increases rolling resistance.
You just couldn’t sell a 2000 lb car with a 70 HP engine, these days. I remember when cars like Honda Civics first hit 100 HP, and it was a big deal. Other than the Smart car and a few others on the fringes, I doubt if you can buy a car making less than 100 HP these days. Or without AC, as you say.
Unfortunately, the people who make decisions are generally scientifically/technologically illiterate, and really don’t know that you can’t make cars bigger and heavier with more safety features, and expect them to get more fuel-efficient at the same time. And then there’s the EPA and CARB - and again unfortunately, optimum cleanliness in an engine doesn’t coincide with maximum efficiency.
True. I'm old enough to remember when the Mini could be had in Toronto brand new for $2,000 and it wasn't wasn't the 175hp racing cart that today's version is.
The ironic thing to me is that my $800 Geo Metro gets 55+ mpg at 55 and does it without the benefit of 17+ years of subsequent enviro-engineering.
Thanks for that quite notable photo. That’s how quads (ORVs) are parked on trailers and they take up just about as much room.
“The biggest problem is that the American automakers are so bad at doing diesels that consumers have soured on them.”
That’s not entirely true...they did bad diesels here in the states. Overseas, GM and Ford make a bunch of well regarded diesel cars.
Watch it with the comments about Volvos...
Over the years I’ve gotten the impression that everything Ford and GM did in Europe was better than the stuff they come up with in Detroit.
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