Posted on 06/23/2008 12:50:55 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
As a regular combatant in the daily grand prix on our local roadways, I have received many one-fingered salutes from my fellow motorists, all well-deserved.
But from my first joyride in the new Smart car I brought home a month ago, the only salutes being flipped in my direction are a steady stream of thumbs-ups.
It's possible that some people are waving goodbye.
Enthusiasm for the new microcar from Mercedes appears to be exceeded only by the expectation that anybody crazy enough to drive one will soon be pulverized by a passing Peterbilt.
The question about the car I get most often, in fact, is whether it's even allowed on the highway. People seem to think it might be better suited to puttering around a golf course.
Like a lot of early adopters - there are about 10,000 Smart cars on the road nationwide, and San Jose and San Francisco are among the top 10 markets - I hated the car at first.
There had been some whiny reviews in automotive magazines suggesting the car accelerates like a wind-up toy, and like so many others who have grown accustomed to driving preposterously over-powered, high-performance cars, I wanted my mojo back.
But that's sort of the point, isn't it? Who needs a car that can go from 0 to 60 in six seconds?
Power and fuel efficiency are a zero-sum equation: You can't have more of one without less of the other.
Yet nobody, including me, is eager to concede our God-given right to treat every city street like a drag strip.
I liked the idea of owning a fuel-efficient Smart car, but did it really have to take 13 seconds to get up to freeway speed?
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Garbage. My Metro gets way more then that and it's worth more now then when I bought it (yea I can't figure that one out either).
It is an integral part of their worldview - they KNOW BETTER THAN YOU.
Sowell explains this in “Conflict of Visions”.
Hope the car salesman also gets the buyer to sign up as an organ doner. The harvest will be great for saving lives...if there is enough left of the remains to use.
Like a squirrel?
And you could park it in your living room...or in your office.
Looks fun, for an oversized go cart. lol.
Found this passage about it:
To reverse you would have to get out and turn the car yourself with a chrome handle on the rear. Its lightweight fibreglass body made it light enough for this to be an easy task.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2007/11/01/peel_p50_feature.shtml
-PJ
Even most cars that "require" premium gas don't actually require it. I have a BMW that supposed requires premium gas. It doesn't. Most modern cars have anti-knock sensors that will automatically adjust your timing if the engine is igniting early. As long as your car isn't knocking or pinging, you'll be fine.
“He lives out in the country and most of his driving is done at 45 mph with hardly any stops.”
That must be nice (actually, I’d find drivng any considerable time or distance at 45 mph rather frustrating). My driving tends to be either in town, from light to light, bumper to bumper stop and go on the freeway, or at 75+ mph on the freeway. None of those conditions are conducive to the best fuel mileage. I still average about 28 mpg in my ‘04 Honda Accord.
Hmm. Not if the engine was igniting. That would be a problem, of course. I meant if the gasoline inside the engine was igniting too soon.
I have a Honda Civic- I average about 42 MPG.
My last 3 Civics all got over 40 MPG. Comfy enough for my 6’4 size too.
Remember kids; "Objects in the mirrors of a smart car maybe closer than they appear."
Mine's bigger than yours....!
That's especially true when I can name a 20 year old car that looks cool, is a blast to drive, reliable, goes 0-60 in 6.4 with a 130+ mph top end... and oh yes, it gets 30-35 mph on the freeway.
My daughter started working her summer job and so we car pool in together in the morning and she finishes at noon, so I checked out the bus routes from my office to home and I found 1 route that stops just on the corner from my office and 1 mile from home and gets there in about 35 minutes (it takes me about 25 to get home). At a 1.25 per ride, I fill up with quarters and change clothes to run home after I get off the bus. Unfortunately, temps here in Phx have been rather brutal, so I have to take a water bottle with me to avoid overheating. But, I feel like I’m trying to help out with the gas crunch and our household car crunch (4 drivers on 3 cars!).
Some things just virtually scream COOL! ;-)
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