[thackney]

I think they did well for safety with the size limitation of the design. There was no room left for crush zones so they made it fairly crush resistant.

Safer than a motorcycle (once in the crash, the motorcycle would do better avoiding the crash probably) but less safe than anything my family drives.

It seems to me as well there are better choices for economics as well as safety.

[atomicweeder]

The safety claims of the SmartCar are based on it running into a wall -- it does well.

But if I hit it with my Dodge Ram diesel P/U, I pity the fool.

On another note, I almost bought by daughter a Honda Fit, but opted for the Civic on a "gut feel" about size. Soon after she got it, she was in a collision on the Atlanta beltway and was able to drive away.

If you compare gas mileage, size, and safety of a Honda Civic (even a non-Hybrid) versus the SmartCar, it just ain't worth the $5k price difference.