TopGear crash tested this thing at 70 mph into a solid concrete wall and the cause of death for the dummy wasn’t any injury sustained from the car’s lack of crumple zones. It was from internal organs hitting the insides of its body. Therefore, you crash just about anything into a brick wall and suffer that kind of deceleration, your organs will get sliced by your ribs like deli meat. In fact, the smart did about as well as the other car they crashed. There was some intrustion, but honestly, the thing was going 70 mph! Pretty dang impressive for how well it survived.

The smart is starting at 11,800 US when it comes here. figure lots of luxury equipment to boost that up to 13,000 bucks.

Use the SUV to tow the boat or haul the lumber 10% of the 13,000 miles you drive a year.
1300miles/15mpg=87 gallons of gas
87 gallons x $3.30 = $287

Drive the rest in a smart car
11700 miles/45 mpg=260 gallons of gas
260 gallons x $3.30 = $858

TOTAL $1145

Now, if you’d driven 13,000 miles in an SUV
13000 miles/15mpg x$3.30 = $2861

Save 1716 a year, pay the smart off in 8 years.

Wow, 8 years. Almost doesn’t seem worth it… Maybe once they’re a few years old and on the used market… I feel dumb for doing all that math and then going back on my word!

Up here in Canada, I think this thing will sell like hot cakes. I can’t wait to drive one!

I agree with the above poster that the second vehicle will be the mini-van (in my case).

You SUV’ers keep buying up the 8-12 mpg vehicles and watch what happens to the price of gas next summer! Five bucks a gallon I bet.

$20K is a lot for this car, I think it should be closer to 15K, I hope the Gov’t steps up and offers discounts like they do for hybrids…

Put my name on the wait list!

“If you already own a chevy tahoe with 35,000 miles, at $3 per gallon, your tahoe would have to travel another 100,000 miles (135k on the odo) just to recoup the cost of the smart… not including the gas and maintenance on the smart…which would up that figure.”

How much did you pay for that Tahoe?
How many people do you drive to work with everyday?
How long do you expect a Chev to last?

As others have stated very well above, this thing about buying a secondary car for fuel savings is total crap. If you sleep better at night believing that than I am happy for you.
Add purchase price, or even worse yet if you don’t have the extra $20K in cash the finance price…..registering a new vehicle, state and local taxes, insurance on a new vehicle……do you think you’re saving by taking your little car “down the street”…or “to go buy milk”.

Take your $20K and put it into a solar/ battery / inverter rig for your electricity in your home if you want to make a difference….at least that’s tax deductable under a permanent improvement to your home isn’t it?

$20,000.00/3(dollars per gallon)=6,666.6 galons of gas.

for the cost of purchasing this vehicle, a regular vehicle could travel:
SUV @ 15mpg = 100,000 miles.
midsize sedan @ 25mpg = 166,665 miles.
Econo ****box @ 35mpg = 233,331 miles.
Diesel econo @ 45mpg = 299,997 miles.

If you already own a chevy tahoe with 35,000 miles, at $3 per gallon, your tahoe would have to travel another 100,000 miles (135k on the odo) just to recoup the cost of the smart… not including the gas and maintenance on the smart…which would up that figure.

please tell me you are not this stupid.

your formula=
(EARTH RESOURCES*GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS)/(EVIL CORPORATIONS*INDIVIDUAL SUV OWNERS) = your agenda shoved down my throat.

have a nice day!

We don’t have to wait until the gov. or big business makes changes we can adopt changes in our own lifestyle that can have a great overall effect.

I am not trying to preach and each person should make their own choices because that is what makes America great, but what is good for one is rairly good for the community as a whole.

That was the most elequint(sp) hug the earth statement I have seen, and I do commend you for being able to phase your comments in a manner far better than others who share your point of view.

While agreed that on a day-to-day basis, vehicles like the prius, civic hybrid, or other perform the same or better than truck/suv counterparts, there are a number of things wrong with that mentality.

1) not everybody can afford a new vehicle. Common practice now is buying 10-30k mile used on a 1 to 3 year old vehicle for 1/2 or more off MSRP.
2) Vehicles as described above are not as likely to be sold used, and if they are, it is because they are reaching the end of their useful life-cycle. I would not want to be the second owner of an 80k mile hybrid that had only been offered basic maintenance.
3) Thank the Regs for eliminating good diesel here in the US. Anyone who followes automobiles looks to europe with envy at the diesel offerings. Take the Jeep KJ 2.8 CRD for example. It was a crap engine. DCX sold more than twice their expected target.
3) Technology is advancing faster in the last 15 years than any point in history. New developments and research are pointing the century old internal combustion engine in a new direction. Hybrid technology appears to be a stop gap. It was invented as a booster to increase CAFE numbers. Now, it is almost nothing more than a fashion statement.
4) I have the type of personality that if I have the phisical ability to do something, I better have the resources as well. Should I choose a pickup as a DD because I do not want to pay extra to have a television delivered, lumber delivered to my home, a couch or other furniture, etc, I should not be looked down upon. If I have the ability to fuel the vehicle, who are you to say I should drive something else? If I use more fuel, I pay a higher amount of gasolene taxes than you.

If I pay my fair share, why come after me? Why go after the corporations making the vehicles (go after all of them… even Toyota for their truck line that rivals or is worse than comparaable products from teh villified GM)? You need to point the finger where it belongs. REGULATIONS. I am not talking about CAFE here. I am talking about fuel regulations. I am talking about grants and alternative research. You are the type of person that complains about the tax cuts in place, yet those cuts in the Reagan administration paved the way for the influx of cash that provided the R&D responsible for the technology boom of the 90’s. When people have more $$$ they do one of 2 things. They either spend it on products, providing more $ for future products at that company, or they invest it… also providing $$$ for future products.

What I drive, or what you drive, is not the issue.

Things and vehicles don’t define you.
How you live and what you can contribute does.

In every other thread, this is what has been proclaimed:

“this car is never going to be bought as a long distance highway car, but to pop down to the market instead of taking the Suburban” Thai Ladyboy

“This car is a second not a first. A town runround not a lond distance cruiser. If you drive a gas guzzler then this would be the perfect car to save you money around town” Mr B Lutz & Mr R Wagoner

etc…

so, my numbers were on the assumption that this is an additional vehicle for a family to use, not in place of…

Smart:
$20,000
100 mpg
12,000 miles per year
Gas at $4.00
12,000/100 = 120 * $4.00 = $480.00 a year.
Over five years $20,000 +(480 * 5 = 2,400) = $22,400

Prius (Which I own)
$27,000
60 mpg
12,000 miles per year
Gas at $4.00
12,000/60 = 200 * $4.00 = $800.00 a year.
Over five years $27,000 + (800 * 5 = 4000) = $31,000.00

SUV
$35,000
15 mpg
12,000 miles per year
Gas at $4.00
12,000/15 = 800 * $4.00 = $3,200 a year.
Over five years $35,000 + (3,200 * 5 = 16,000) = $51,000.00

Who’s laughing now.

$20,000.00/3(dollars per gallon)=6,666.6 galons of gas.

for the cost of purchasing this vehicle, a regular vehicle could travel:
SUV @ 15mpg = 100,000 miles.
midsize sedan @ 25mpg = 166,665 miles.
Econo ****box @ 35mpg = 233,331 miles.
Diesel econo @ 45mpg = 299,997 miles.

who is laughing at who?

For the amount the driver would save by driving this thing, i bet the driver can’t wait to laugh back at you.

With little or no “crumple zone” on the Fortwo- I’m starting to wonder what would happen if two Fortwos ran into each other. Would it be like marbles colliding?