Posted on 04/03/2008 3:30:11 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
WASHINGTON (AP) - A government crash test of the 2008 Smart Fortwo micro car, the fuel- sipping vehicle that made its debut in the United States this year, found a safety concern in side-impact testing, officials said Thursday.
During the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration side test on the Smart two-door, the driver door unlatched and opened. The government said that could increase the likelihood of a driver or passenger being ejected from the 8-foot, 8-inch vehicle.
NHTSA, however, still gave the car its top score of five stars in side testing because of the ability of the car to protect the driver and passenger from injuries in a crash.
Rae Tyson, a NHTSA spokesman, said the rating is based on the level of protection that the vehicle provides to occupants, but it wanted to note a potential safety implication.
"Given the amount of attention on smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in general and this vehicle specifically, we wanted to try to get the vehicle tested and the results out there as quickly as possible," Tyson said.
Ken Kettenbeil, a Smart spokesman, said the vehicle was designed to receive a four-star crash rating from U.S. regulators and the results were consistent with their expectations and similar tests in Europe. He called the safety concern in the side crash an "anomaly."
In other NHTSA tests, the Fortwo received four out of five stars in the front-end crash on the driver's side. On the passenger side, it received three out of five stars, meaning the passenger would face a 21 percent to 35 percent chance of serious injury.
In rollovers, the Fortwo received 3 out of 5 stars and had a 21 percent risk of rollover.
Smart, a division of Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand, began selling the cars in the United States in January.
Test results from the new micro car have been highly anticipated in the auto industry because of the vehicle's miniature size and concerns that a driver or passenger would be more vulnerable in a crash.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a Virginia-based organization that also conducts crash tests, is completing testing on the Fortwo and is expected to release its findings later this month.
The French-made vehicle, which has been sold for about a decade in Europe, has a steel safety cage and four standard air bags, including two in front and two on the sides to protect the head and abdomen. It also has standard electronic stability control, which is designed to stop vehicles from swerving off the road.
In a December interview, Smart USA President Dave Schembri said every showroom would display the vehicle's tridion safety cell, which protects occupants in a steel housing.
"We're taking the safety story, and we're telling it right on the showroom floor every day," Schembri said. "Because once you walk people through that ... you get it, because you can see it. It acts very much like a NASCAR racing cage."
The 1,800-pound car gets 33 miles per gallon in the city and 41 miles per gallon on the highway. Smart has marketed the vehicle as a good choice for consumers grappling with high gas prices and urban congestion but unwilling to sacrifice safety.
“Are you a pizza or were you just in a micro car headon collision?”
A five star side rating is hard to get
I think I would have to have flashing lights all over it. Visibility would be as bad as for a motorcycle. Some drivers won’t seei. Some won’t want to see it. Some will seeit but think it has no right to be on the street and will run over it.
33/41 mpg? Shoot, I use to get 47-50 mpg in my Geo Metro back in the mid 90’s.
For several years I drove an I-Mark that seated 4, drove 80 on the highway all day and got 37 mpg highway and about 31 in town.
IIRC, Honda CRXs would get about 50 highway.
I can’t wait to see what teenage tuners do with this car. There’s room for two people and two subwoofers.
I had a Honda CRX and it did get over 50 mpg. I never felt quite safe on the highway, with it, though.
The car got a 5-star side impact rating... and the headlines scream that the car’s unsafe?!?!?!?
(shaking head)
I guess that “safety doesn’t sell” newspapers?!?!?
There are videos on Youtube and streetfire.net where some kid put a Turbocharger on a 1300cc Hayabusa motorcycle engine and installed it into the car. Something like 450 horsepower. The thing is crazy quick.
/sarc
I’ll bet you didn’t! A stylin’ casket with a steering wheel.
Pretty fast 0-60 though, close to an MR2.
Saw one on the road just the other day! Wondered what it was because I could use something like that to pull behind my little Minnie Winnie. Think I’ll look into them. ... Price?
Your chances are better there, since more people have them.
Here, if you get into a collision, it's more likely with a F150 or Buick, and you're toast in a tin can.
Hippie chicks all day, bro. Just keep your crab lice shampoo handy...
THere was more than one version of that car. I think they had the extra fuel efficient version, called the HF, and a high performance version, called the Si, and a standard version. I don’t know what the standard version was called.
The STD?
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