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.
Whilst doing this, the owners- a very pleasant older couple, came up, and let me sit in the car, study its controls, and so forth.
It's surprisingly large inside, and very comfortable.
How will it stand up to being rear ended by an eighteen wheeler? Loaded.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbin_Motors
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Corbin Motors was a manufacturer of sporty pure electric, gas efficient and hybrid vehicles.
The company was founded by Tom Corbin and they are mostly known for the Corbin Sparrow,
but they also made the Corbin Merlin that was available as both coupé and roadster.
The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 31, 2003
My family has 3 Prius. A ‘01,03,05. All of them have 4 seats and truly average 46 MPG. Better than 48 if you use cruise control. I drive one 250 miles per week 130 each way thru delaware penna and Jersey. Never less than 46mpg.
My 25 and 26 year old children drive theirs with pride and have a lot of walk around money left over from the savings. My wife drives a ML430 and gets 22 on cruise. She hauls horses with it.
These Tick looking pieces of ....t Won’t work with the handicaps of getting less milage than the prius and almost the same price
I got stuck with a Geo Metro for a couple of days as a company rental. It had phone ahead acceleration.
You didn’t wind up the rubber band enough.
I actually drive one of these and have for about a year now. The one we have is the diesel version and its mileage is outstanding. We fill up about once every two weeks and it costs around $20 to fill. Once you’re in it, you forget you’re in such a tiny car, it’s only when you turn around to look behind you at the trunk that you remember how small it is.
Parking is a dream in the thing, on several occasions we’ve squeezed it into a metered space on the street that already had another car in it! Haven’t got a ticket for that yet.
I’ve never been concerned about the safety thing as the car itself is essentially a big roll-cage. I’ve seen a couple that have been in accidents and you basically just bounce off whatever hits you and roll away.
I would reccomend this car without hesitation and think it is ideal for two situations:
1. A second car for commuting to/from work. If you’ve already got the family-wagon or SUV for major outings and hauling loads around, then you can’t ask for a better, cheaper way to get into and out of town.
2. TEENAGERS. You got a kid and they want a car? BUY THEM THIS! They can’t go too fast in it, they can’t cram it full of their noisy friends, they can’t load ridiculous subwoofers into it, and it’s dirt cheap to maintain. This is the perfect car to buy for your kids.
All in all, highly recommend the smart car.
More important than that, will truckers have to buy a special tool to pry these things out of their tires?
You can get 44 on the highway and 40 in town on one of these, and at least you can twist the old right wrist and get away from trouble most of the time.... 
I drove 'em Luzern, Switzerland back in '03, and just recently for three months in Milan, Italy.
They are not highway cars.
They are designed for the city.
Where there is limited parking.
For all of those who have never been to Europe, nor been to an old part of an American city with narrow streets, and no parking, you may get a clue as to their purpose.
Personally I don't need one, nor want one. I live in the country on five acres of property, and my BMW 335i is sufficient for my needs.
Someone gets it.
This assumes that seat belts are ignored. I've seen video of crash tests involving these cars, quite impressive.
Drive a cheesebox, die in a cheesebox. I’ll stick with my Suburban, thank you very much.
A Fortwo, huh? They’re only one vowel away from what it really should be called.
Pull behind??? Just put one in the glove box.
I rode 2 wheelers exclusively for 26 years. My last one was a 1980 Yamaha Virago 920-European model with enclosed chain. It got 55 mgp on the road and 48-52 in town. And I could jump out of an on ramp into dense fast traffic without disturbing other vehicle drivers. I put over 70k on it, 60k on the the 2nd chain(enclosed in grease).
I was given a Geo back when it was a three-cylinder car. It was OK.
When I accelerated with the following, improved-engine Geo, a colleague riding along remarked, "Wow...It's pretty quick!"
My excited response was, "Yeah! It's a FOUR!
—It took a minute to digest what I'd just said.
:-\
My Minnie Moho is only 24 ft long. Pulling the thing would do just nicely ... I’ve pulled a 15 ft trailer loaded with the Moho and don’t know it’s back there unless I turn on the back-up camera. I wonder how the link-up for a tow bar would be attached ... cars with frames are preferred and this thing looks like it’s a tin box with wheeled axles and a motor/transmission hung under it, no frame. I could almost get it into my tool trailer with ramp door!
Piaggio MP3 500, a 500cc scooter, gets up to 60 mpg but has plenty of power for the highway
A solid urban commuter, no question about it, but a bit pricey. Looks like fun, though...
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