This car may be very little in size but the price is quite large.

It is not selling well in Europe – it’s primary market. Why would it become success in States?

“So what if it’s as big as a fridge and costs as much! You’ll never have to get another one! This is gonna be with you for the rest of your life! And when you die, they can BURY you in it!”

I know its safety cage is impressive but time will tell how this car will fare in accidents with other American cars. Can you imagine a head-on collision between this car and an old Ford Excursion? The Smart’s safety cage will remain intact but the impact will throw this little car a 1/2 mile down the road and possibly into oncoming traffic.

Wow, talk about killing a car before it even arrives. Price the Passion at $10k and you may have a seller, but you are in volkswagen rabbit territory with the $13k model.

That thing would have to get 200 miles per gallon for me to drive it

Seriously that’s in the Honda FIt + Suzuki SX4 category. Why spend so much on the Smart when you can have a safer Honda or Suzuki? Ego boost?

Who is going to buy a tiny car with 40 MPG ?

This thing should pull 60 MPG for it’s size, not 40.

Timeline for the Smart :

Initial big sales, then a slump, then pulled from the US market.

ok anything with the name passion will never be in by driveway.
how about a crash with an old ltd or anything with real metal bumbers and no crumple zones, it would be like barry bonds hitting a baseball.

my driveway

Madcapp, go. The mongoose comment.

Ok, Lets see its VERY SMALL, UGLY, Expensive and doesn’t get that good of gas milage either. A receipe for disaster…

CTS Driver, speaking of happy thoughts like crash with old LTD: have you seen 2 LTD drive into each other? I actually survived old LTD crashing into the rear of 64′Fairline (which looked just like in Dice movie before LTD cured resemblance), but I did not look or feel good for a long time. Actually Fairline faired much worse.
To answer your comment on another posting how do I know that GM will not be in business in 3 years: I really don’t. Perhaps I am a pessimist on the subject, but I’d rather be pleasantly surprised in 3 years if GM is in business ( a lot of of livelihoods at stake). It is current board and it’s actions concerns me. As I mentioned before: who could believe 3-5 years ago that Ford will be in shape it is.

I disagree with your dire predicaments. This will replace the Miata as the most desirable car for a certain segment of the U.S. population; the name of which cannot be mentioned lest your post face deletion. But I bet this thing sells like hotcakes in San Fran.

Come on people how fast do you think car in central New York go. They barely move and tyhat is the whole point of this car. As the car is only half the size of a normal car it will be able to cut through traffic and if it does get into a accident it will probably be light as the traffic barely moves as it is.

Trust in europe have been waiting for someone to get totally mashed in one of these so it can show the whole world how bad the car is (like the mercedes a-class flipping) but there is nothing that even come close.

Its like driving a go cart in New York traffic

Stuart, if you seen NYC drivers you know that they do not know how to drive. Smarts will be smashed here often. But NYC is the intended market. BTW, I do accelerate up to 50-60 mph going up or down avenues, when hitting green lights right (or running through red).

autonut i do agree, their old man management completely lacked any vision for years and it has almost cost them the business that i agree on 100%.
and as someone who grew up in a gm loving family they have dissappointed everybody, but their cars are eons ahead of anything from pre 2000, so i do see a much smaller gm in the future but i dont think they will die all together.
as somebody said here last year sometime the asians will overcome gm, but gm will be making the nicer car….. i can see that point.
agin look what audi did….its the best turnaround from any carmaker ever, so im always optimistic that with vision things can change.
anyways glad you survived that crash, it had to have hurt bad, in those old bricks you take the entire crash.

Veda: smart’s sure to be a better car.

I was just in NYC with my girlfriend’s Mazda3.

I was racing traffic on the FDR and the car was just itching to be tossed around. It handles like it’s on rails and it stops and goes like it weighs nothing. I felt like I was in a go cart and everything around me was standing still.

There are plenty of times you need to suddenly peel out and GO in Manhattan. The Mazda3 is phenomenal, the ultimate car for Manhattan. The Mazda3. **** this Smart piece of ****. 0-60 in 15 seconds will get you killed in NYC.

deantj: if I had to get a compact, then Mazda3 would be one of the 3 models I test-drove. I like that car!

WOW! Why the hell would anyone pay that kind of money for an ugly little crap box like that! Does it get like a 100 miles to the gallon or something?

For $11,XXX without AC, I will opt for a Hyundai, or even a 1st Gen Ford Focus (and I am a Ford Focus hater because everyone else gets the new platform). For $16,XXX to still get a 71hp engine? That’s an expensive lawnmower! Geez! So again for $16,XXX I’d buy a mid level Mazda3, or Saturn Astra when it comes out, or Honda Fit (I know the resale is there at least!) Smart can easily turn into the modern day Yugo or Edsel!

MERCEDES-BENZ MINI CARS WILL BE VERY PROFITABLE IN COMING FUTURE AND FOREVERMORE.