40 MPG SMART Car Arrives in U.S. (Glorified Go Kart)

AP via Yahoo ^

[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."

[ops33]

Exactly! My ‘07 Honda Accord gets 37 MPG so where’s the advantage?

[Grunthor]

“You know (hopefully) perfectly well I was using the word jeep as a general term for a type.”

Sorry, I didn’t realize that.

“I certainly do not assume that everyone who says they own a jeep is talking about owning a cartoon character from Popeye.”

When I hear people talking about a Jeep, I DO assume (my downfall) that they are speaking of a Cherokee or a Wrangler type of vehicle.

[Grunthor]

“It must look fuel efficient.”

But does it have to look dorky/ugly at the same time? And why make such an ugly vehicle then charge through the nose for them, and STILL whine that the gasoline powered SUV is selling better?

[Windcatcher]

"But does it have to look dorky/ugly at the same time? And why make such an ugly vehicle then charge through the nose for them, and STILL whine that the gasoline powered SUV is selling better?"

Promptly submit yourself to the re-education camp, comrade. Sexy, stylish, roomy, fast cars are imperialistic bourgeoisie inventions and are to be avoided.

/sarc

[Proud2BeRight]

Fire departments will love how easy it will be to hose the accident remains off the roadway. That’s even worse than many of the ricegrinders on the roads today.

[Windcatcher]

I’d rather have this instead:

http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=16837

/cry

And it’s a freakin’ MACH 1 version instead. If I wasn’t already insuring two other cars this puppy would be all mine...

[Windcatcher]

“instead” —> “too”. Can’t type today. Still a gorgeous car.

[Thunder 6]

I saw them for the first time in Leipzig, Germany in 2001...they parked them sideways in parallel parking slots.

Regards,

[Rb ver. 2.0]

OK girls, which makes you hotter?

[chiefqc]

I first saw one when I was in Italy about 2005.

Ugly, Butt Ugly.

[moondoggie]

Kind of reminds me of my '87 Honda CRX.

I don't know how I survived driving home from work on I-40 everyday:-)

[Hot Tabasco]

The thing that really irks me is that SUVs get a reputation for being dangerous.

Well, my personal observation during the winter months here in Michigan is that 90% of all vehicles that have slid off the roads due to weather conditions are either SUV's or pickups.

Draw your own conclusions, but my opinion is that SUV's are far more dangerous during snowy and icy conditions due to their heavier weight, higher center of balance and the false sense of security they give their bone-headed drivers............4 wheel drive ain't going to help you one bit when you elect to cruise the speed limit during or after a snow storm and I fart in their direction when I pass them because they have ended up off the road in either a ditch or the median.......

[Eye of Unk]

And these new cars are safer?

[Bogtrotter52]

I even put the old Toyota Landcruiser in the generic “Jeep” catagory. But there are damned few vehicles that can qualify for the list. The Suzuki on was VERY short lived by the way. I have searched on the net and found none.

[therut]

I would not drive that thing around the yard.

[shadowcat]

CROSSBLADE

Not road legal in US. For sale in UT for $34,000.00

[OrioleFan]

The new Shriners mobile for parades.

[Professional Engineer]

Shouldn’t that say “Crap!”?

[Nowhere Man]

the rest of the world does not realize that the US is different. we drive farther distances to work. we have more parking spaces. we drive with more people in the car. we do not need this car. except maybe people in NYC or san fran where parking and gas are at a premuim. but there are better choices out there.

True, a lot of people in foreign countries, mainly Europe, don't realize how many open spaces we have and we have longer distances here to overcome. We are and will always be married to the automobile, it is an American (and Canadian) thing. I knew someone who served in the Army, he was stationed in the then West Germany. He joked, in Europe, the "towns are 2 kiloton apart, here in the U.S., they are more like 200 kilotons apart." You can walk or bike from town to town, village to village over there, you can't do so well here.

This Smart Car, well, if it was for 3 or 5 thousand bucks, I could go for one, I go 3 miles to work everyday, but I think I'll keep my 1994 Ford "Exploder," I can haul things in it. My grade school buddy has a F-150 crew cab pickup, it's laid up now, so he asked me to help him take home a 52" HDTV, no way you'll get that home in a Smart Car. Then again, that car is nothing buy food for bigger cars, it's so small that it makes a Hyundai look like a 1965 Mercury. B-)

[Snoopers-868th]

Kids go in the trunk. Oops looks like there is no trunk. Tie ‘em on top?