The Smart fortwo coupe is the latest vehicle available in Canada where I post this today. In USA the vehicle is NOT sold as it has not been properly crash tested, and although it is popular in Canada it will take another year or two for it to be released into the USA. I have seen a few of them driving around with Daimler Chrysler manufacturers plates on down the PCH in LA, but none in private hands.
The petrol engines are complete with turbo charger and air cooler, the 3-cylinder rear-mounted suprex engine weighs in at just 59 kg. Capable of delivering between 50 , 61 and up to 74 bhp (BRABUS), it delivers excellent fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions.
These little wonders are capable of parking two in one carpark, although check with your local authorities as they will probably ticket you for not using the park correctly.
The car gets up too and over 49 (UK) MPG, and has the safety of a Mercedes Benz.... I think that New York and Los Angeles councils should be putting pressure on Damiler Chrysler to hurry up and get them ready for sale in the USA.
Way to go Rodney Hide, the Green party should be proud of you.
6 comments:
This Google Video shows just how amazing safe those little cars are. After that type of impact you wouldn't expect to be able to open and close the doors!
In theory I have no problems with the Smart. Something light with adequate power, really in the spirit of the Mk 1 Honda CRX (which I found out here, outside the US market, are built so flimsily that they are death traps). But in NZ, where you have Commodores, it may be structurally rigid, but if you get shunted, it's still not good enough as your sole car. Perfect city car, but you'd better have another larger car in the garage. I was a passenger in an Accord Euro which was involved in a minor motorway accident on the way to lunch on Christmas Day, and I tell you, I felt the thuds. Fortunately, it came off with minor panel damage, which really surprised me -- "Euro" not just in name, it seems. I wouldn't want to be in a car light enough to be shoved against other vehicles or off the road.
THe Smart is not really a motorway car.... It is an inner city car as you mentioned Tony.
Sad after all this talk that they're going to stop making them. Personally I'm a huge fan of them, they're a classic design and perfect for cities.
They're very popular in europe although quite expensive c/w small Fiats and Lancias.
The Smart Cars are already available in the US from ZAP www.zapworld.com ZP (NYSE). A California based company who is also planning on bringing a Brazilian made car to the US, the Obvio! 828, that is a hybrid that can run on any combination of ethanol and gas. Zap is also the only car company who is selling a Chinese manufactured car in the US the 100% electric Xebra city car .
Please can someone help. We have brought with us our smart car from the UK, and we thought we had our certificate of compliance, but when we came to register it, it was a cert of comformity. Since then we have gotten our compliance, but are dissapointed that there is no frontal impact numbers. What we find confusing is that smarts that are older or same age as ours are registered over here, how can we get ours registered can anyone help. We have tried the exempt thingy, but we need to prove that our car is the same as the other smarts its age!!
PLEASE HELP
Post a Comment