Chrysler rethinking Smart car in US on MSNBC.com

Darn you Daimler/Chrysler and your wishy-washy ways! The one advantage
would be the price would likely fall dramatically from what it is now
through these official "dealers" that Zap set up. I had seriously
considered the car but after seeing what these dealers were charging
(around $25G) and the fact that they only get 40MPG after being
"Americanized" I decided to go with either the Toyota Yaris HB or Scion
xA.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13146541/from/RS.1/

 

thats 40mpg EPA, right, which is rolliong road. Therefore its not
really taking into account the cars weight, or aerodynamics. The smart
also has a really good crash structure. The Yaris is all cheap argie
steel, as will the toyota xA (and argentine steel is cheap, yes, but
not the most consitant of quality)

i did drive a yaris a few years back in the UK, wasn't impressed by
it, had a smart as a hire car there too, felt much more respnsive.
Also, if chipped, i think they can manage something like 135mph.

 

I'm presuming when you say "rolling road" you mean highway; so yes.
40MPG is considerably lower than the 57MPG I believe the
"unAmericanized" Smart gets. I agree about the crash-worthiness of the
Smart, it's obvious from the test videos I've seen. But when it comes
down to it; for almost half the price I get a bigger (more spacious)
car that gets the same MPG when buying either the xA or the Yaris. And
with the xA airbags are included

 

I'm presuming when you say "rolling road" you mean highway; so yes.

I think he means a car on a treadmill, not actually being driven. This
deosnt account for weight or aerodynamics.

 

This business of chipping is, I think, irrelevant. You can also buy the
Brabus Smart which, in the UK, costs twice what the basic version costs.

I have driven both the basic Smart (deliberately chose for the test drive,
even though I was offered various souped-up versions) and I must say I
prefer the Yaris (speaking as a great Mercedes fan). The Smart is very
spacious for the two people but has no other room except for a shopping bag,
whereeas teh Yaris will fit more luggage and people, and did not feel badly
made. Also the Ford of Europe Fiesta and Focus are better value for most
people.

The Smart is definitely an urban car. It sells well in Paris and Rome and,
probably, London, but that is not sufficient to make the car a commercial
success. All product extension measures (Smartforfour, cabriolet etc) have
failed to turn the fortunes of the car round. Its original idea was good, I
suppose, but the reality turned out to be unfavourable. Let's not forget it
was a Swatch idea, with DC being drawn in as the car-manufacturing partner.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
---

 

Isn't one advantage of the Smart car is crashworthiness? That should be
worth a few extra bucks to people buying a small car.

 

Focus is old in the tooth, common, and boring nowadays. 7-8 years ago,
yes it was new, stylish, but not any more. I've also had extensive
experiance with mk 2, 3, 4 and 5 fiestas, and i can safely say i never
want one.

Oh, it does sell well in london too. also, remember the smartfour is
not a smart car, iirc its a rebadged suzuki, diahatsu or somesuch.

 

Thanks for the clarification. EPA is never the same MPG during "real
world use"; I probably get higher than the 42MPG my Festiva
"supposedly" gets because I keep a steady gas pedal and avoid fast
stops/starts. It'll be interesting to find out "if" Chrysler decides
to bring those here how it'll change the cost. I won't buy one since
I'll have been in my Yaris or Scion xA for at least a year by then.

 

The styling of the Focus has become blander but it is not considered a
'long-in-the tooth' vehicle here. Its handling is among the best in class,
so the journalists tell us and my own experience with at as a rental is
pretty good. (Same for the smaller Fiesta and the larger Mondeo.)

The Focus and its predecessor have dominated/topped the UK sales charts for
decades.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
---

[...]

 

Not familiar with the term "chipping" when it comes to cars; what is
it? Is it anything like gamers do with PC's by overclocking the CPU?

 

No, its nothing like destroying cpus by overvolting them. Its either
adding an interface chip, chainging the input and output values, or
replacing the chip entirely. The PC equivilent would be changing the
cars OS.

 

Is the Mondeo still being made? Mondeo (Europe) = Ford Contour/Mercury
Mystique (U.S.). Contour/Mystique are not in production.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/mondeo/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The mondeo that the contour/mysteque was based on was replaced at
least 3-4 years ago by a new one, which kept in line with the 'new
edge' styling on all fords in europe nowadays (which started with the
focus)

 

The twofor2 Smart car is only for two people and a thin brief case.
IMO it's stricly a commuting car and would be OK at 50% of the price in
Canada. Also it's a (dirty) diesel.

The Yaris is a 4 seater, with a bit of a trunk.
The Yaris could be ones only car; it can hold two people and their golf
clubs. <

 

They blow off the road as well, at well below that speed.
I was just in the UK. Many Yaris's, very few Smarts.

 

I just rented a Focus SW for 3 weeks in the UK.
I really liked the form factor, a comfortable car for 4 adults and great
luggage capacity.
I was 1.6L 5sp and gave us 35 I-MPG for 1,000 miles of about 90% highway.
The only concerns we had were very high road noise and difficulty
parking with it's very low hood line.

 

Yes in the UK.
Hertz offered me the Mondeo or the Focus SW as mid sized.
We chose the Focus SW for it's great luggage capacity.

 

I'm assuming thats UK gallons, not US (4.2l for a UK one, about 3.8l
for a US)

higher road noise is generaly true for all EU spec cars. harder
suspension, different road surface (somewhat) plus it seems we brits
don't care so much about a little car noise. i for one have crunched
my starter more than once when i've had the drivers door open, and
didn't hear my van running - guess thats why they actualy put a tacho
in a vehicle with a slushbox.

 

dirty? no. modern diesels aren't dirty, but anyway, bugger me if the
fourtwo smart has a 3cyl turbo petrol (gasolene) engine in it. 50, 61,
or 74hp (brabus)

 

How clean are modern diesel engines? At present diesels are illegal where
I live (Massachusetts) because they don't meet our emission standards
(Massachusetts uses the California standards). The US hasn't had the
cleaner diesel fuel that's available in Europe although I believe it's
about to be introduced. With low sulfur diesel fuel do the current crop of
diesels meet the California standard or do we have to wait for a next
generation engine?