Small cars are no good!

[Thai]

link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7329117&page=1

Conclusion: when small cars hit midsize cars, they crumple, even the best of them!

 

[A10MileHusker]

link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7329117&page=1

Conclusion: when small cars hit midsize cars, they crumple, even the best of them!

Thanks for posting this Thai. I saw this on the news today and was going to post this as well. Really shows the irony of calling them "smart cars" right!? Every time I pull up next to them I can imagine my front push bar plowing into their faces if I ever hit them head on. They are not worth the money!!

Doug

 

[Nashvillerunner]

How could somebody not imagine that??? You see the size of some of these cars and you know they can't be made out of much and could not handle a high impact crash.

So here are your options?? Would you rather own a heavier more built vehicle like a 4Runner that doesn't as good gas mileage or a small vehicle that gets 40MPG but risk driving something that small and the chance of getting into a high impact collision with no safety??

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I preach this to friends and family all the time. There

 

[Thai]

Sidenote: The airborne SmartCar may actually be better off. It's all about getting rid of the energy over as much time as possible.

Well, it may bounce right over to the OTHER lane with incoming traffic!

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Well, it may bounce right over to the OTHER lane with incoming traffic!

:roadkill:True!!!:bonk:

The whole concept of Europe/Japan sized cars may work there. On any given I sit in traffic and then hit 78mph. Striclty slow city driving isn't an American thing for the vast majority of us.

:cheers:

 

[Rover+Runner]

Check out this recent video of a SMART car getting roasted by a Mercedes C320. Ouch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6TL15pJtw

I disagree with the statement that diesels will turn our cities into stinking cesspools. Diesel technology has come a long way in the past 10 years and IMO my brother's diesel Jetta is a much safer way to get 40 MPG than a micro car.

 

[boston_kevin]

All of the crash test ratings are rated against impacts with cars that are the same or very similar in size. In reality, this hardly ever happens... Typically accidents involve cars of different sizes or cars with immovable objects (walls, polls, etc). I'm glad this video finally shows the real results...

 

[Annoyed]

That's basic physics. How the frak can anyone need a study to verify it is beyond me.

The truly scary part is that people who like to drive those econoboxes know this too, and are trying to use the power of government to force all of us to drive what they want to drive, so that they aren't deaded when they hit a larger vehicle than theirs.

 

[alaskaman]

I would say I called this but that would sound arrogant.:bash:

 

[Scoobs]

This just in.

Repeated addition exercises have determined that 1+1=2. The general public is shocked, " I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself ".

Subsequent exercises have determined that 2 is greater than 1, " wow, who'd have thought".

 

[4boer]

I remember seeing a smart car on I-94 Chicago last near. 4 semi's around it. I almost gagged. Are there any crash test film of T4R's?

 

[GatorGreg]

Are there any crash test film of T4R's?

Check out this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?threadid=283

 

[Stick Figure]

Okay i'll take the other side of this. For a little background, one of my other vehicles is a MK1 MR2, and i work on sports cars for a living, and live in the LAish area, so i know what accidents and traffic are!

Every vehicle has an advantage, me personally in heavy traffic, i would rather be in a car that can maneuver around the accident. I know this isn't always possible, but it often is, and some of the things i have done to avoid being hit simply wouldn't have been possible in an SUV. Don't get me wrong i do love my 4runner, but it doesn't handle like a sports car, nor stop like one, nor accelerate like one, and sometimes that can be more important to survive/avoid an accident situation.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

I make my living driving large trucks (both tractor-trailers and three-axle straight trucks), and I can tell you that those "Smart" cars are not as safe as some claim them to be.

First of all, they tend to be worse when they're in my blind spot - and it often takes a second look at the mirror to see someone there (which I am good at doing because I have to in order to avoid a collision). The sheer lack of size makes them harder to see than someone in a Corolla, Civic, etc.

Second, the people who drive them seem to think that everyone will "notice" them because of the novelty of the car. Well, folks on a motorcycle might feel the same way. I almost think they deliberately try to stay in my blind spots! They'll match my speed if I try to get away from them.
:bash:

Finally, in the event of a crash, it is nice to have crumple zones and all that stuff - but you just can't substitute mass and metal; particularly if the other vehicle in the collision is much larger. The part about avoiding the crash altogether seems important if you drive a Smart ForTwo, or some other econobox.

Whatever you drive, though, be safe and give a big rig plenty of room. Stay far enough behind me to see my side mirrors or pass on by me quickly - but don't ride along side me if you can avoid it and ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS signal your intention when turning or changing lanes.


~ End of rant; off of my soapbox. ~

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Thai, thank-you and the rest who posted. A good friend called day before yesterday to tell me he was thinking about buying a SmartCar. I ranted for ten minutes or so and emailed him a link to this thread. He called today and wants a Hylander Hybrid. He thinks he can afford an Escape Hybrid. Either way he'll live...
:cheers:

 

[alaskaman]

Thai, thank-you and the rest who posted. A good friend called day before yesterday to tell me he was thinking about buying a SmartCar. I ranted for ten minutes or so and emailed him a link to this thread. He called today and wants a Hylander Hybrid. He thinks he can afford an Escape Hybrid. Either way he'll live...
:cheers:

".....I keep my eyes on the sky and I don't let my friends get hurt"......

good work !

 

[Thai]

Thai, thank-you and the rest who posted. A good friend called day before yesterday to tell me he was thinking about buying a SmartCar. I ranted for ten minutes or so and emailed him a link to this thread. He called today and wants a Hylander Hybrid. He thinks he can afford an Escape Hybrid. Either way he'll live...
:cheers:

Cool. We need to all thank IIHS for doing this crash test. I would ask your friend to check out either Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4 which are both infinitely better than the Escape. Or if he does not have young kids, then i would also consider the Venza. I am still not 100% sold on Hybrid technology. It is one of the great wonders of the world (Toyota Hybrid specifically), but it sure costs a lot with possible high maintenance down the road. At current fuel prices, your friend would need to drive the Hybrid many many many many miles (>80k miles) before he could recoup the extra cost of buying the hybrid vs. a non-hybrid model.

BTW, i think that the Escape Hybrid is old technology. If he wants the latest domestic hybrid, then he needs to check out the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, which has been receiving raves about in car magazines.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I'm with you on the Hybrid thing. He's a techno-geek Boyscout. He wants a hybrid not to save the planet but because he wants one. He knows that money isn't a good reason to buy one; the numbers typically don't work even at $5+/gl. We did talk about the Ford. He'll look. Thanks.
:cheers:

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Hybrids


While I don't have anything against hybrids, I question the logic of some folks who buy them. You are correct about how it takes a very long time and 80,000+ miles to "break even" with getting a "normal" version of the same vehicle.

As for saving the environment, I am doubtful of that claim as well. Factoring in the chemicals in the batteries, the heavy metals and petroleum-based plastics, I believe the carbon footprint of a Toyota Prius is probably somewhere between a Chevy Tahoe and the Hummer H2.
:bash:

Seriously, though, a lot of people in VA buy hybrid cars so that they can use the carpool lanes during rush hour without having three people in the car. Our state gives them "CF" (clean fuel) license plates so that troopers know not to stop them for flying solo in the HOV lane.


If ultra-high fuel mileage is a concern, diesel-powered vehicles are worth considering. They're not the smelly, slow, smoky, soot-covered toads of yesteryear. Modern diesel engines (such as the Mercedes BlueTec, Volkswagen TDI and the newly-released BMW 335d powerplant) are clean, fast and efficient; and rival some gasoline engines for throttle response and low noise levels.

Even though diesel fuel runs 20 to 30 cents per gallon more than unleaded gasoline (idiotic - because it is cheaper to refine), they get several more miles per gallon (and longer distance on each tank of fuel). There are no spark plugs to change, either!

Additionally, diesels typically last longer than gasoline engines - provided the maintenance is done properly and often enough. For "gearheads" in our midst, the increased torque of a diesel engine is very noticeable and provides excellent passing power without having to downshift. The new BMW 335d offers up 425 pounds-feet of torque at around 2500 RPM -- and that is with an inline-six that only displaces 3 liters!
:bigok:

The bad thing about diesels, though, is that they cost more initially, fewer mechanics know how to work on them and parts are more expensive. Cold weather used to be a problem for oil-burners, but modern electronics and better quality fuel helped to squelch those concerns.

Post-2007 engines also have a DPF (diesel particulate filter) that helps them attain "low emissions" status on ultra-low-sulfur fuel (available most everywhere now). The DPF requires some maintenance and BMW diesels have a urea injection system that must be serviced every 15,000 miles or your engine will shut down and won't start!

If you drive a lot of miles and prefer a torquey engine instead of a higher-revving powerplant, consider a diesel. I drive big rigs, so I get my fill of "super torque" diesel engines on the job - but would consider a diesel car for a personal vehicle if I had a longer commute.


P.S. The Cummins ISM diesel engine (about 11 liters in size) in the big rig is rated at 330 hp (turned down electronically from 425 max hp to save fuel), but ponies up more than 1500 lbs/ft of torque at around 1300 RPMs. All that power requires an Eaton-Fuller 10-speed manual transmission. Those engines can often run over a million miles with proper care - if the rest of the truck holds up.