A study in opposites

What happens to the smart when you’re finished with the testing?

Daniel — I imagine the guy from Smart will come along, stick the car in his pocket, and bring it to another journalist!

Aaron

Nice pair…
Honestly the smart car is something I could live with (and enjoy) but The Vette would be the car I “used” as in DROVE the most… hope it is the 6 Sp. … LOL

Bob G.

WHAt A DEAL. I will gladly take BOTH. I reckin Id take either, but Id really like BOTH. I work an odd shift where there is little traffic. At $3 gallon. The SMART would be my work daily. That way I could justify the vette on the weekends

Let’s face it AARON,the Smart would be the car to “in your face” the oil companies,but then they would only raise prices to continue to reap their billion dollar profits.On the other side of the coin is,if you ever drove on a trip,could you use the Smart comfortably?God forbid you had a headon with a mountain bike.It would probably kill all occupants of the Smart.Being 6′1″ tall,it would probably cramp more than my style.

Joe, actually, a friend who is 6′+ — and in front of whose house we took the photos — fit quite easily into the Smart — more comfortably, in fact, than the Corvette.

Great video of a Smart hitting a barrier at 70 MPH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

Short version (crash only):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOIfW2K2Hk

Bob: The Vette is a 6-speed. And I have to say — it really is a remarkably enjoyable car. Going out to drive now…

Aaron

You know…..that was oddly gratifying Aaron. Something sinister, no doubt, compels me to enjoy seeing the Smart get even shorter. It’s really cathartic. Try it. Just keep hitting play over and over…. yeah man, that’s gooood!

Oh and by the way…merry Christmas to you too Aaron.

I know what you mean, Mike — how do you think that video wound up with five and a half million viewings?

Aaron

I test drove the Smart, with much excited aticipation about a month ago at a local shopping center parking lot. What a disappointment! The accelleration was was not only slow, but “herky-jerky”. It was primitive in its handling and inspired no confidence in its structural integrity at all. I’ve felt more at home and secure in an old Russian Moscovitch. The cost savings and fuel savings do do not justify the primitive nature of this vehicle. As I’ve posted before, a Honda Fit or a Nissan Versa, for a few dollars more are fun to drive and cheap to keep. The Smart is NOT!!!

For a more balanced take on the smart than Hawaiiaan Don’s from a real car guy check out http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=190270

I had anticipated buying one of these when they came out but changed my mind. Not because of the car but because I’ve seen 2006 models for sale for $25K+ (used cars right here in the USA). I can’t even imagine the dealer mark up on the 2008s!! For that price I can get a much nicer car that gets close enough to the same mileage.

As for those not impressed with the acceleration and transmission, what exactly were you expecting out of a tiny thing like this? A Caddy CTS? There are motorcycles with larger engines. A GoldWing is probably more fun to drive. The engine probably weighs less than most drivers. The crash video would have been more interesting with a dummy in it. I expect the roll cage to keep the car mainly in shape but what happens to the human body going from 70 to 0 instantly?

If I could actually get one for $11K to $13K, I still might consider it. But I doubt they will sell for that. We’ll see very shortly. I think the dealers will price the cars right out of the market for the first year or two and that may kill the longevity of the car.

But my main thought is… if Jay has 1950s cars that do 35-40 mpg, why can’t we build 2008 cars that do 80 mpg? My 1975 Datsun B210 would do 40 mpg on the freeway (no automatic computer adjustments, etc) so today’s bragging rights at 35-40 is nothing in my book. We’ve basically gone from 40 mpg to 40 mpg in the last 33 years.

Amen to Mike J. from Dallas! A car this size should get well over 40mpg. Hell, with todays technology we ought to be able to get this sort of economy out of a comfortably sized car and not a tuna can.

A few years ago I owned a ‘02 Kia Spectra sedan, I regularly achieved 30-40 mpg and it was big enough to seat 4 adults comfortably.

With the markup that the dealer is likely to place on this car, and the fact that it doesn’t get much better economy than other small cars, I don’t know how long the Smart will last in this market.

Mr Cote… So to be a “real car guy”, I guess you need to have a TV show, deep pockets, a big car collection and your own flashy website. I guess that’ll show all those gurs with automotive engineering degrees, automotive writers on the car magazines who spend hundreds of hours of testing and comparing,those race car drivers and the auto mechanics! They all should bow down to Jay Leno…the “real car guy”!!!

Sorry Mr. Don. With all due respect, I don’t think “all those gurs (sic) with automotive engineering degrees, automotive writers on the car magazines who spend hundreds of hours of testing and comparing,those race car drivers and the auto mechanics” would have felt “more secure and at home” in the no crumple-zone, no ABS, no ESP, no front and side airbags, no tridion safety cell, zero star crash rating “Russian Moscovitch”.

I’m certainly not praising the Moscovitch (a Fiat knock-off, by the way), but Jay’s Garage is hardly a reference point of serious automotive reference for me. Having driven both of these cars, the road worthiness of the Smart irked me as well as its dubious general practicality, due to its modest gas mileage vs. its gereal utility. Hey, gas mileage is a top criterion in any purchase for me, but this car would be far more acceptable if it posted MPG’s in the 60’s not 40’s. As for the Moscovitch, I have been in several that had odo’s with more than 250k’s on them with no end in sight. I wonder if a Smart will post those miles one day.

By the way Daniel, at least I didn’t compare it to the Russian/Ukrainan built Zaporozhetz that met all those “lack ofs” you mentioned above. Not even my sarcasm is that dark!!!

Quit your bickering. Back to the Smart Car & Corvette -
Smart car & Corvette are both appealig in style, but obviously we’re comparing a walnut to prime rib. I find the Smart ‘cute’ and (hopefully) functional for my needs as a mostly single driver. It’s the only car I’ve seen that made me do a double, then triple take, thinking “I want to know more”. The Corvette is sleek, low, powerful, but it’s not something I would ever consider driving; it just wouldn’t meet my needs. I look foward to reading Aaron’s review.