Why I'll never buy or ride in a Smart Car

[Queasy]

Link - Check the video in the middle of the page. That's against a mid-sized Mercedes C-Class.

Aside from the other factors such as aesthetics, space, and 'coolness', I'd feel like I'm driving in a death trap around Atlanta.

 

[scott916]

Holy shit. I've always thought the same thing when I see people driving them on the freeway. Only slightly safer than a motorcycle.

 

[ivan2]

this is totally opposite of the test that fifth gear done years ago, i am kinda surprise when i read the news.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: scott916
Holy shit. I've always thought the same thing when I see people driving them on the freeway. Only slightly safer than a motorcycle.

How likely is a head-on collision on the freeway?

 

[AmdEmAll]

meh, it did pretty good for being so small and hitting at 80mph combined.

 

[zoiks]

The Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris didn't fare well either. Death traps I say.

 

[tboo]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Link - Check the video in the middle of the page. That's against a mid-sized Mercedes C-Class.

Aside from the other factors such as aesthetics, space, and 'coolness', I'd feel like I'm driving in a death trap around Atlanta.

Agreed

 

[KeithTalent]

I saw a Corolla slam into the side/rear end of a Smart Car in an intersection near my house. It sent the Smart Car spinning across the street and up onto the sidewalk, but aside from that and the airbag deploying, the Smart Car came out ok, just a bit mashed in the back. The Corolla looked to be about in the same shape.

KT

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: AmdEmAll
meh, it did pretty good for being so small and hitting at 80mph combined.

Two cars colliding at 40 mph each head on is not the same as one car at 80 and the other stationary.

 

[marketsons1985]

Originally posted by: zoiks
The Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris didn't fare well either. Death traps I say.

Yeah seriously. I agree that in the awful position of being pitted against a head-on collision it's not great, but it doesn't look like the driver got all that mangled in that instance anyways. I haven't seen too many of these on the highway, mostly just around town going 25-35 mph.

 

[spidey07]

This is shocking! You mean to tell me a small car with small mass is more dangerous than a normal car? F=MA.

 

[Ronstang]

There are so many reasons not to by a Smart Car, this is just icing.

 

[JTsyo]

Another article
The first picture, look how far into the Fit the other car penetrates. Jeez.

 

[jteef]

I don't know how anybody ever decided these cars could outsmart physics.

The exact accident depicted in the videos may be rare, but what about people making a left turn on a yellow light getting whacked by oncoming traffic that also decides not to stop for the yellow? Imagine instead of a C class it was a HD fleet truck or van.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: AmdEmAll
meh, it did pretty good for being so small and hitting at 80mph combined.

Two cars colliding at 40 mph each head on is not the same as one car at 80 and the other stationary.

Relative velocity. 2 cars going at 40mph towards each other have a relative velocity of 80mph. Same as a particle of the reduced mass of the system traveling at 80mph towards a stationary point.

 

[mb]

Stupid Car

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Link - Check the video in the middle of the page. That's against a mid-sized Mercedes C-Class.

Aside from the other factors such as aesthetics, space, and 'coolness', I'd feel like I'm driving in a death trap around Atlanta.

a c class isn't midsized, though it weighs more than the camry (at least when comparing V6s). it would have been worse against a proper midsize e class.

 

[hans030390]

Considering how small the car actually is, though, it holds up fairly well. I watched another video where the Smart Car smashed into a concrete wall (slightly angled, so it would end up off the road) at 70MPH. The special safety "shell" or "cell" (or whatever it's called) that lines part of the car actually help up extremely well. They're safer than you'd think, but at those speeds, you're more likely to die from the force of the impact (snapped neck, maybe?) rather than the car "parts" killing you.

 

[Slew Foot]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: AmdEmAll
meh, it did pretty good for being so small and hitting at 80mph combined.

Two cars colliding at 40 mph each head on is not the same as one car at 80 and the other stationary.

Relative velocity. 2 cars going at 40mph towards each other have a relative velocity of 80mph. Same as a particle of the reduced mass of the system traveling at 80mph towards a stationary point.

The total kinetic energies are different though. 2 x 40^2 < 80^2

 

[SlitheryDee]

Man...I thought these things were supposed to be safer than you might think. That driver's dead.

 

[scott916]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: scott916
Holy shit. I've always thought the same thing when I see people driving them on the freeway. Only slightly safer than a motorcycle.

How likely is a head-on collision on the freeway?

I meant just how bad even a relatively minor accident with a much larger (damn near any) vehicle would be.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Slew Foot

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: AmdEmAll
meh, it did pretty good for being so small and hitting at 80mph combined.

Two cars colliding at 40 mph each head on is not the same as one car at 80 and the other stationary.

Relative velocity. 2 cars going at 40mph towards each other have a relative velocity of 80mph. Same as a particle of the reduced mass of the system traveling at 80mph towards a stationary point.

The total kinetic energies are different though. 2 x 40^2 < 80^2

That's why I said reduced mass. Relative kinetic energy is 1/2(u)v(rel)^2.

Thus, you have KE(1) + KE(2) = KE(center of mass) + KE(rel)

Where KE(1) and KE(2) are made up of the individual masses, and the "lab velocities" of the bodies moving. KE(center of mass) is made up of the center of mass velocity and sum of the masses; remains unchanged in the collision. KE rel is what I said it was above.

 

[PingSpike]

Another good reason not to buy a smartcar is its fucking hideous and cost just as much to drive as other much less ugly compacts that have a back seat. The thing requires premium gas. Its the answer to the question nobody asked: Is it possible to build a car that saves me no money and repels chicks like 4 day old B.O.?

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: scott916
Holy shit. I've always thought the same thing when I see people driving them on the freeway. Only slightly safer than a motorcycle.

How likely is a head-on collision on the freeway?

That was the question posed on the news show I was watching this morning. In realistic tests, the cars did very well. A head on collision at 35+mph is a very rare collision.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
There are so many reasons not to by a Smart Car, this is just icing.

This is true. My Scion Xa was $4000 cheaper, gets 4 MPG more on the hwy, has a backseat, a full trunk, and can hold 4 people. Smart Cars should be called Stupid Cars.