Chevy & GMC Vans

I have been seeing a bunch of these Smart cars around here lately.I ran into a guy at a dollar store and asked him what the dealer told him when you bought it about safety.Anyone who has been around me for awhile know I am naturally curious.He said he is a dump truck driver and the dealer sold him the car based on safety tests that rated it very well on a rollover because it was build with a protection cage.

So I still wanted to know if we are trading off safety with these things for gas mileage.I mean are they anymore safe than riding a bike??.(motorcycle)
When I first saw them I thought of them as a rolling coffin.


I did a search and found the following:


http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/ca ... wo/Safety/



It seems there is ways of getting around the safety test when the are based on crashes with the same size and wt vehicles,but once tested against what would be more likely vehicles,the Smart Car didn't do well.


So I guess I answered my question that those cars shouldn't leave the owners driveways.

What gets me about the Smart car is it only gets 41 mpg highway! Between that and the real fact you will die in a crash with anything but a motorcycle has me thinking these are NOT smart cars!

Does it cause cancer or have a warning label? Must be safe, the guberment lets them be sold and taxes them. No war on smartcars here.

Thankfully I live in a state with no helmet law,,, that,,, I would think twice before riding in.

On the old site we where on there where crash tests about Astro's.Seeing this make me feel a whole lot better.

But you you believe there is a company that mods these Smart cars??.Take a look:

Modification

Smart cars have been modified by Brabus of Germany, resulting in Brabus production models. Other companies modify the Smart to use motorcycle engines, such as the Suzuki Hayabusa 1340 cc inline four-cylinder. These cars are known as Smartuki.[50] The most powerful models can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in less than 3.5 seconds.[51] The original car was fitted with a mildly tuned engine and ran 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, 1/4 mile standing start in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 132 mph (212 km/h). It is possible to push the GSXR engine further; nitrous Oxide will add another 50 bhp (37 kW; 51 PS) - 80 bhp (60 kW; 81 PS) and there is a turbocharged option.[52]

That is just crazy.

I'd rather have a bigass Electric Motorcycle!!

Everyone has to evaluate their comfort level and risk. If you ride a bicycle or motorcycle, you are more at risk then if you drive around in a big Lincoln or Caddie. But does that mean you shouldn't ride a bike or motorcycle? You will die when the dumptruck hits your bikes. You may or may not in the Lincoln. The goal is to not get hit in the first place.

Personally, I'm not impressed with the Smart car because it is fugly and the performance doesn't match the potential. But I wouldn't not buy one because of perceived safety.

But hey, this is coming from a guy who once owned a lifted Suzuki Samurai... a death trap on wheels according to Consumer Reports!

mdmead wrote:... a death trap on wheels according to Consumer Reports!

I do recall them saying that about the Astro/Safari...me thinks C.R sometimes

Engineering works. Those "exposed" ribs that are a different color are part of the safety cell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

Surprising results. 70mph impact direct into a concrete barrier - Doors still open and close. My Astro wouldn't survive that test.

Herbie wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

Surprising results. 70mph impact direct into a concrete barrier - Doors still open and close. My Astro wouldn't survive that test.

The doors may open, but the driver would still be dead. Why is there no crash test dummy?

By the way, we have youtube embeds now.

timelessbeing wrote:

Herbie wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

Surprising results. 70mph impact direct into a concrete barrier - Doors still open and close. My Astro wouldn't survive that test.

The doors may open, but the driver would still be dead. Why is there no crash test dummy?

By the way, we have youtube embeds now.

Because this particular "test" was a demonstration for a TV show, not an industry test. There are plenty of real tests with dummies on youtube too. Net result seems to be that the passengers are at LEAST as likely to survive a given crash as any other subcompact in the same price range, and better than many larger vehicles that have not been engineered to the same standards.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU[/youtube]
Note that a "Good" rating is the highest possible for IIHS ratings. "Acceptable" is where most cars land, a few manage "Poor".

I'll never understand why people continue to think small car == death when the last two decades have shown us that well engineered energy absorption zones coupled with seatbelts with pre-tensioners and airbags provide an amazing amount of survivability. Yes, mass is mass and a bigger car often provides good protection in and of itself, but that's the sort of thinking that leads to people buying 4000lb trucks and then being surprised when it does worse in a crash than a Honda Civic.

I'm amazed the windshield remained intact too.

About the only way you'd find me owning one of these things.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDU5BU_q ... ature=fvwp[/youtube]

You see I have never not done something because so and so said it was unsafe or dangerous, sort of like a moped or scooter, it may be a fun toy for a little while but to use it as a daily driver for me it would need to be free.

Then I'd sell it and but an astro or two!

They always show head on impacts only. I'm not likely to drive straight into something, I will be trying to steer away from whatever it is.
Also, they should try other shapes of immovable object that are more realistic.
It is quite likely to hit a high object with room underneath to go in, like the back of a truck, (or front)
Then the windshield hits BEFORE the body hits the trucks tires. DOA.
Dump trucks slice thru F250 doors pretty fast, how bout "Smart" cars doors?

so, If I'm gonne go all environmental and oil-less as possible, I'm still favorable to the idea of a Harley sized silent Electric Motorcycle with a LOT of power, and big batteries, and chrome , of course.
It must fit inside an Astro though.

WoodButcher wrote:About the only way you'd find me owning one of these things.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDU5BU_q ... ature=fvwp[/youtube]

You see I have never not done something because so and so said it was unsafe or dangerous, sort of like a moped or scooter, it may be a fun toy for a little while but to use it as a daily driver for me it would need to be free.

Then I'd sell it and but an astro or two!

WB-that would be a huge hit at the Roch,NY cruise nights.I don't know where you ever found that,but I did enjoy it very much.Thanks man,

you couldnt pay me enough to have a smart as a daily driver. I know they do ok in crash tests, but what happens if they get tboned or drive into the back of a pickup truck or small work truck?
until someone can prove to me that these things are totally safe when put against the much larger and heavier older american cars and trucks (which there are still a lot of) I'm not gonna buy one.
I know for a fact that if I had been in a compact or subcompact when I had the accident with my last safari that I wouldnt have walked away, much less been able to drive away (hydroplaned into a stopped car doing about 40 mph). if I had been in a smart car, the back bumper/ trunk of the car I hit would have went through the windshield or at least to the cowl area.