Vandals flip Smart Cars in San Francisco

[mtnbkr]

We're just joking here, right?

If you say so.  Hard to tell sometime.  I'm sure the vandals were just joking too. :)

Chris

[vaskidmark]

Having seen too many (one was way too many but for some reason I got to see even more) front end/front quarter crashes, I want something that will absotively guarantee that there will be as much front leg room after as there was just before the crash.

And no, air bags/seat belts are not rated as "safe" at typical highway speeds.  But they do reduce the chance that you will be speared by the steering column.  Not always sure that is a good thing.

stay safe.

[Ben]

We're just joking here, right?

Well, we were.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I was thinking the funny more along the lines of people with a superority complex find themselves harrassed by vandles.

I wouldn't say the vandles are innocent little prankster or doing good things at all.
I would say they probably wouldn't be out tipping my car (which also has good gas milage and is fairly compact for parking in tight spots) and I laugh at the special people and their SMART car, when, once again, it prooves to be less then Smart.

[Firethorn]

Top Gear did just that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKGfo1wmOM

I think I'd prefer if Mythbusters, or somebody else for that matter, did it with a proper crash test dummy.  For example, apparently the Smart Car was the only one to still pass the offset barrier even when they weighted it up to a mid-sized car.

For example, I'm seeing figures for > 100 g and 214g for survival in crashes.  > 25 G for 'death or serious injury likely', but 46.2g for rocket sled deceleration tests which didn't have fancy pre-tensioning seatbelts with careful amounts of slack.  Of course you also subtract points for not having a 5 point harness, but add points for airbags.

Still, let's do some figuring:
70 mph = 31.3 m/s, 1 G = 9.81 m/s^2

I'm not seeing the crush depth of the smart, other than it's 'not a lot', so I'm looking for crush depth necessary.
25G(death or serious injury NOT likely): 2M necessary.
100G(survivable): .5M(Almost there?)
214G, Kenny Bräck: .23M(Which is in range of what the Smart has).

Honestly, I wonder how many G's we should move the figures up once you start adding smart airbags and everything.

On a different topic, an extremely safe car is the Tesla Model S - which to date doesn't have a fatality or even serious injury, even in one case where the car hit concrete in excess of 100 mph, took out a bunch of concrete barrier, went through another concrete barrier, before finally hitting a tree.  Driver got out of the vehicle without serious injury.  But then the Tesla has both a huge crush zone(no engine in front to worry about), and crazy strong passenger compartment.  Still, given it's mass and strength it's strategy seems more like 'plow through the object'.  I get the feeling the concrete dividers in the video would not have stopped a Tesla.

Not to the pickup truck drivers - From what I've read of the tests I wouldn't be surprised that in a head on collision the thing is likely to act like a ramp and toss your truck into the air.  It weighs more than the F-150!

[Boomhauer]

So far I haven't really encountered a lot of Smartcar drivers with smugperiority complexes.

Pious drivers, on the other hand...

[Firethorn]

So far I haven't really encountered a lot of Smartcar drivers with smugperiority complexes.

The way I look at it, the Smart is a specialist vehicle, as opposed to a more general purpose one.  It's designed to be easy to use in cities.  Consider that if 90% of people in the cities were driving one that:
1.  Death rates in accidents would likely drop.
2.  Gas prices would drop a smidge due to less fuel used
3.  Parking would be more available

[roo_ster]

I saw the smart vs mid size car at 35mph video a while back .  Smart car was a mess and the interior looked like it would have rendered the occupants drt.  The worst designed and rated mid sized car did much better in a crash vs mid sized.

Given the smarts cost a honda civic is a better deal at the same mpg.  More room more crashworthy same mpg same or fewer dollars.

Sure it is beter than a donorcycle but ghat is a low bar.

[RevDisk]

While amusing, it's still not cool to damage or destroy someone's property, just because they can. Hope the perps get caught and pay for their damage.

Smart cars are fairly good ideas for crowded cities. Highway travel would make me cringe.

[Tallpine]

Smart cars are fairly good ideas for crowded cities. Highway travel would make me cringe.

The trouble is that why would you pay that much for a car that you can only drive in the city 

[MillCreek]

The trouble is that why would you pay that much for a car that you can only drive in the city 

When you live in the city and don't have much reason to frequently drive outside of it but need to be able to drive within it. If I lived in NYC, Boston, Chicago or someplace like that, one of these cars may be a practical solution.

[RevDisk]

The trouble is that why would you pay that much for a car that you can only drive in the city 

I'm confused by the question. They start at $13-16k. About the same price as most Harley Davidson MSRP prices, but significantly more practical. A mini Cooper (which I would prefer for city environments) starts at $24k. There's only a couple new cars cheaper than a Smart Car: the Nissan Versa ($12.8k) and Chevrolet Spark ($12.995k).

[roo_ster]

When you live in the city and don't have much reason to frequently drive outside of it but need to be able to drive within it. If I lived in NYC, Boston, Chicago or someplace like that, one of these cars may be a practical solution.

Only to those who are affluent enough to afford such a limited use car as a supplement to other autos with more capability.  Folks who can afford just one car usually need more utility than a Smart can provide.  Which is why Honda sells the heck out of the Civic, which is priced at the same level as the Smart.  Same with Mazda's 3, & Toyo's Corolla.  More car, same mpg, for the same $$$.

Don't get me wrong, I have no more animus toward the Smart than I do toward convertibles, 2-seater sport cars, motorcycles, or such limited utility autos.  All are neat-o autos, but mostly "practical" only to folks with another set of wheels.

I'm confused by the question. They start at $13-16k. About the same price as most Harley Davidson MSRP prices, but significantly more practical. A mini Cooper (which I would prefer for city environments) starts at $24k. There's only a couple new cars cheaper than a Smart Car: the Nissan Versa ($12.8k) and Chevrolet Spark ($12.995k).

Mazda 2: ($14.7k)
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsSpecs&vehicleCode=MZ2

Mazda 3: ($16.9k)
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=M3S

This is a hotly-contested segment that provides so much more value/$ than the Smart. 

[Tallpine]

When you live in the city and don't have much reason to frequently drive outside of it but need to be able to drive within it. If I lived in NYC, Boston, Chicago or someplace like that, one of these cars may be a practical solution.

Actually, I would think that in those places public transportation would be a better option.  Maybe own a nice car to take on trips that sits in the garage most of the time.

Or maybe an electric golf cart would be more useful 

[MillCreek]

Actually, I would think that in those places public transportation would be a better option.  Maybe own a nice car to take on trips that sits in the garage most of the time.

Or maybe an electric golf cart would be more useful  

My daughter is living in NYC right now looking for her first professional job as a commercial illustrator.  She is living with a couple of room mates who are in the same situation.  One of them has a small car, I think a Versa, that they use when they need to lug their big portfolios hither and yon.  Apparently, it is a real hassle transporting them via subway, so this is an example of how a small car comes in handy in the city.  They live in an area where they have to move the car from one side of the street to the other every day, and a garage space would cost hundreds of dollars per month.

Here in Seattle, the Zipcar and other similar car-sharing arrangements are popular, and I would go for something like that if I lived in a downtown area with good public transportation.  

PS: I forgot to mention: Up in British Columbia, in Victoria and Vancouver, the Smart Cars are way more popular than they are down here, and they park in the city with the back of the car to the curb and the nose of the car to the street or vice versa.  You often see three of them parked this way in one parallel parking space on the street.  I wonder if that argues in favor of a Smart Car over the alternatives, especially if you are young and single and don't have to worry about transporting kids.

[gunsmith]

My daughter is living in NYC right now looking for her first professional job as a commercial illustrator.  She is living with a couple of room mates who are in the same situation.  One of them has a small car, I think a Versa, that they use when they need to lug their big portfolios hither and yon.  Apparently, it is a real hassle transporting them via subway, so this is an example of how a small car comes in handy in the city.  They live in an area where they have to move the car from one side of the street to the other every day, and a garage space would cost hundreds of dollars per month.

Here in Seattle, the Zipcar and other similar car-sharing arrangements are popular, and I would go for something like that if I lived in a downtown area with good public transportation.  

PS: I forgot to mention: Up in British Columbia, in Victoria and Vancouver, the Smart Cars are way more popular than they are down here, and they park in the city with the back of the car to the curb and the nose of the car to the street or vice versa.  You often see three of them parked this way in one parallel parking space on the street.  I wonder if that argues in favor of a Smart Car over the alternatives, especially if you are young and single and don't have to worry about transporting kids.

Native NY'er and lived in SF for a long time. ... subways and buses truly stink. They are mobile homeless shelters except that in real homeless shelters you go thru a metal detector and they sort of have security - subways and buses house people that have been defecating themselves for months to years without bathing.
They wipe their bodily fluids on any surface where your hand may go , they'll stand over you and demand change if you're sitting, they'll spill beer on you, they'll have TB and cough in your face.

Car tipping is hardly new, I recall teens doing it in NY 30 years ago .
Probably some journalist is outraged that his car got tipped even though it had an Obama/Biden sticker on it.

[RevDisk]

Native NY'er and lived in SF for a long time. ... subways and buses truly stink. They are mobile homeless shelters except that in real homeless shelters you go thru a metal detector and they sort of have security - subways and buses house people that have been defecating themselves for months to years without bathing.
They wipe their bodily fluids on any surface where your hand may go , they'll stand over you and demand change if you're sitting, they'll spill beer on you, they'll have TB and cough in your face.

Car tipping is hardly new, I recall teens doing it in NY 30 years ago .
Probably some journalist is outraged that his car got tipped even though it had an Obama/Biden sticker on it.

...

This is why I visit cities but never live in them.

[Boomhauer]

Native NY'er and lived in SF for a long time. ... subways and buses truly stink. They are mobile homeless shelters except that in real homeless shelters you go thru a metal detector and they sort of have security - subways and buses house people that have been defecating themselves for months to years without bathing.
They wipe their bodily fluids on any surface where your hand may go , they'll stand over you and demand change if you're sitting, they'll spill beer on you, they'll have TB and cough in your face.

Or they'll kill you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOKVKw_TDrI