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Those things should be illegal. Can you imagine an accident with a semi on the interstate? Smart car? You'd have to be a moron to drive one.
Not much is likely to survive an accident with a semi, including another semi (I've actually witnessed this myself). 80,000 pounds makes short work of just about any other vehicle, except a train. The Smart car is surprisingly safe considering its tiny size. In fact, it's probably safer than many older and larger but more poorly designed vehicles. Of course, compared to many brand new, larger, and equally well engineered vehicles, the size becomes much more of an issue. Modern cars are extremely safe compared to even 15 year old cars, regardless of size.
Apparently you, like many others, are ignorant to its safety ratings.
I'll tell you what I'm not ignorant of: the basic laws of physics. They don't bend or temporarily suspend themselves for marketing ploys.
I know about the steel cage, and I believe the car is actually surprisingly safe for its size. But don't kid yourself; during a serious crash, people seated in smaller, lighter cars are always statistically at a disadvantage - and that disadvantage goes up as the size disparity increases.
Here's one discussion of the more recent crash tests that isn't so flattering:
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found in a new series of crash tests that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart fortwo, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris risk "significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes" with larger, mid-size vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
Worse, the Smart fortwo actually went airborne and turned 450 degrees--more than one full rotation--after hitting the other car (a Mercedes C-Class, itself no giant) in the test. The tests consisted of 40 mph head-on crashes between the fortwo and a 2009 Mercedes C-Class, the Fit and a 2009 Toyota Camry--rare but possibly representative scenarios of real life crashes between two vehicles of different sizes.
"There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president, in the article.
Which car would you rather be in? I'll take the C300, thanks.
Bottom line: there is no way that you'll make a smart car as statistically safe as my Hyundai Sonata - or any other standard, reputable mid-size car out on the road.
Holy $&!@, that Smart did worse than I thought it would at 40mph !
It wasn't a true head on either, it might have faired a little better... the off center crashes are the worst kind.
I'll tell you what I'm not ignorant of: the basic laws of physics. They don't bend or temporarily suspend themselves for marketing ploys.
I know about the steel cage, and I believe the car is actually surprisingly safe for its size. But don't kid yourself; during a serious crash, people seated in smaller, lighter cars are always statistically at a disadvantage - and that disadvantage goes up as the size disparity increases.
Here's one discussion of the more recent crash tests that isn't so flattering:
Bottom line: there is no way that you'll make a smart car as statistically safe as my Hyundai Sonata - or any other standard, reputable mid-size car out on the road.
Yeah, I'll take the C300 too. Now, if I can just figure out where to get the $33,000+ for the C300 as opposed to the $13,000 for the Smart. Of course, I couldn't even dream of paying just $13000 for a car, so the best I can do is to drive a 20 year old, $1000 car that would probably be completely destroyed in a crash even with a Smart.
Naturally a modern, safe mid-sized car is probably going to win in a crash with a modern, safe sub-sub compact car. But there's always something bigger on the road. That same mid-sized car probably wouldn't fair well in a crash with a modern, safe, full size pickup. And that pickup won't look too nice after a crash with a dump truck. And if you get hit by a tractor trailer, I doubt it would matter whether you were in a 2010 Silverado, a Smart car, or a 59 Cadillac (which would probably look worse after a crash with the C300 than the Smart did.)
A lot of Americans really seem to loathe that vehicle. I think it is an excellent car for a big and crowded (European) city. For example, parking spaces (incl. parking houses) are really small in countries like Spain or France.
Smart cars are for people who "think" they're better than everyone else.
Obvioulsy, they aren't.
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