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smart car crash test

slick97spirit

By slick97spirit
in Watering Hole

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BoomerCPO

BoomerCPO

Posted
Posted

I would rather take my chances on a scoot than riding around in one of those mini-coffins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boomer...........who's not impressed with the price tag on those Yuppie-mobiles either.....but realizes it is a good way to thin the herd of idiots on the road nowadays.

CdnDave77

CdnDave77

Posted
Posted

I've worked in the auto industry for my entire career, and no matter what designers/engineers come up with, they cannot change the laws of physics: Mass (weight) wins every time.

 

Did you notice the crash dummy in the Mercedes didn't even hit the air bag ?

 

I see so many of those little Smart cars running around here. I suppose I shouldn't disparage them or their owners as I wouldn't appreciate it if it were applied to me (motorcyle/large pickup). But I just cannot understand why anyone would want one...

BoomerCPO

BoomerCPO

Posted
Posted

No matter what the rating is for them little green boogers the crash results are more definitive and reveal the distinct possibility of immediate death or extreme injury.

 

 

Boomer.......who knows that when the Goobermint is involved ya better watch yer back and yer wallet.

slick97spirit

slick97spirit

Posted
  • Author
Posted
fun fact about that video.. someone put the poor in there.. it actually recieved the highest crash test rating by the IIHS.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/autos/smart_fortwo_iihs_crash_test/?postversion=2008051410

 

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr051408.html

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24599768/

 

it has front and side airbags, as well as a thorax airbag, to protect your abdomen.

 

Now I'm not trying to take this down the "political highway", but I think we better be careful what the media tells us at times. There's no denying the fact that on a head on (with another vehicle) that car popped up into the air like it had a spring board under it. All four tires came off the ground. The media is all into "green" right now & I believe they'll tell us anything they think will sway us to turn "green" too. IMHO

camos

camos

Posted
Posted

Seems to me the Smart car is a step up or perhaps sideways from a trike. Kinda like a motorcycle with 4 wheels that can keeps you out of the rain. They should be driven with as much care as one would ride a motorcycle. Also an alternative when it is too slippery to ride the bike.

 

Took one for a test drive a couple of months ago. I don't know if it has been changed with the gas version for the US but the diesel version for Canada has an evil electronic manumatic transmission which has a 1 or 2 second delay when throttling up from a stop. My Mary Jean really wanted one until she drove it. I think it is something that one could work around or get used to.

 

Whatever the pluses and minuses, the Smart cars do have a "cuteness factor" that I find very appealing.

Guest seuadr

Guest seuadr

Posted
Posted
Now I'm not trying to take this down the "political highway", but I think we better be careful what the media tells us at times. There's no denying the fact that on a head on (with another vehicle) that car popped up into the air like it had a spring board under it. All four tires came off the ground. The media is all into "green" right now & I believe they'll tell us anything they think will sway us to turn "green" too. IMHO

well, mass is good for arresting motion, but just because the car rebounded off the other car doesn't mean the person is dead. i mean, there are sensors all over the dummy's body that measure the torsion on the person and they can use stastical data to decide how serious an injury is likely to result from the crash. the airbags, the design of the frame, and the seats and seatbelts all play an important and reletivly invisible role in protecting the person.. the car doesn't matter.

 

the testing that the IIHS has done is considerably more rigorous than the testing for the Dot, and i find it hard to believe that they would make up crash test ratings now, when they haven't in the past.

 

even by more rigorous european standards for safety, it earned between 3 and 5 stars ( of 5 total ) for crash test ratings depending on selected options.

 

it's rated higher than the honda accord and civic for side impacts, and on par with cars that are considered the pinnicle of safety, such as volvo.

 

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2008/12/safest-cars.html

 

there are alot of non green cars on the safety list.. what would their motivation for faking those results be?

 

believe what you like, i suppose, but i find it hard to believe that an institute like the highway safety would fudge numbers like that. they have a direct stake in the surviveability of cars, as a group associated directly with insurance companies.

 

and for you guys that feel the govement will do anything for a green initiative, neither the ECE institute nor the iihs have any stake in the goverment, nor do the indapendent testing labs in various countries throughout the world that have also given it good crash test ratings.

dynodon

dynodon

Posted
Posted

I actually put a deposit down on one over a year ago. When they did a drive event in St. Louis, they asked everyone to sign up to drive one. I did, got my instructions and when I arrived at the appointed time, there was a 2 hour wait to drive one. I found out while waiting that I was about the ONLY one to sign up, everyone else just walked up when they saw some free food/water and other stuff.

 

The organizers didn't make any attempt to pull the prospective owners (with deposits down) from the crowd, and I was steaming and steamed by the sun by the time I got to drive one.

 

Yes, the transmission is crude to say the least, much worse than any lawn mower I have ever had. Engine was rough as a John Deer 2 cyl diesel tractor. Room inside was amazing, and I have to say the car didn't drive tiny, you felt like there was more car than was really there.

 

But after the treatment and drive, I got my deposit back and will stick with bigger cars for sure. Plus, they only brought to the US the biggest engine, and MPG is not any better than any number of cheaper/bigger cars like the Ford Focus, or Honda Fit. Much more practical four seat cars that are better all around.

 

I don't see many in downstate Illinois, and I won't ever be a buyer for one.

CdnDave77

CdnDave77

Posted
Posted

Those crash tests sure look violent.. and they are. But mostly the data is generated by the impact on the dummies, contact points of the dummies on the vehicle (and vice versa)and the net intrusion into the cockpit/passenger area. The car is supposed to deform to absorb some of the crash energy. But even with all those airbags, having your entire body change direction that fast cannot be good for you.

 

Most of the crash tests used to be direct head-on... the offset tests (in the video), either with a car or barrier came in a few years ago and they reflect closer to what truly happens in an accident and a lot of cars lost their "good" ratings.

 

The biggest issue that isn't commonly spoken of is shown quite clearly in the video : the bounce & spin. The cargo/passenger area may pass the test for intrusion on the 1st collision, but a secondary collision with another vehicle, a guard rail, tree, etc at even more random angles can have a greater impact.

 

But, if we demanded vehicles to be absolutely perfectly safe... we wouldn't have our bikes.

wes0778

wes0778

Posted
Posted
What amazes me is that the Smart Car did not roll over!! For a moment it looked like it was going to...

 

When the video finishes, click on some of the other videos at the bottom. One of them shows the little "green machine" going over on its' side and spining like a top...:scared:

timgray

timgray

Posted
Posted
fun fact about that video.. someone put the poor in there.. it actually recieved the highest crash test rating by the IIHS.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/autos/smart_fortwo_iihs_crash_test/?postversion=2008051410

 

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr051408.html

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24599768/

 

it has front and side airbags, as well as a thorax airbag, to protect your abdomen.

 

 

yup. My paramedic friend pulls more dead bodies out of SUV's that split open easily than any sub-compact cars. My wife and I are trading in our SUV for a pair of smarts later this year. I still have my suzuki Sidekick to drag the trailer for the bike.

 

Buddy of mine get's 55+mpg city with his Smart(his calculated). He changed the wheels to be +2 in size and used Low rolling resistance tires and very light rims. Bonus is that the speedo is now accurate, and the gearing is taller because of the larger diameter tires. I'll take that over my 25mpg GM any day.

CrazyHorse

CrazyHorse

Posted
Posted

Being on the scene of more then my fair share of accidents the Smart car is a stupid investment for safety. Your riding in your coffin. I guess you could save on a casket. The bigger the better. Mass will win every time. My Honda Civic is twice as big and gets 43 mpg on the highway (non- hybrid) and its not the safest car either.

CrazyHorse

CrazyHorse

Posted
Posted
fun fact about that video.. someone put the poor in there.. it actually recieved the highest crash test rating by the IIHS.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/autos/smart_fortwo_iihs_crash_test/?postversion=2008051410

 

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr051408.html

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24599768/

 

it has front and side airbags, as well as a thorax airbag, to protect your abdomen.

 

 

The test is against a similiar size car not bigger cars. Read the article it tells you what to expect when you hit a bigger vehicle. Dont be deceived by crash ratings.

Guest seuadr

Guest seuadr

Posted
Posted
The test is against a similiar size car not bigger cars. Read the article it tells you what to expect when you hit a bigger vehicle. Dont be deceived by crash ratings.

the bmw in the video, and in the tests is not similarly sized. it's got a hell of alot more mass.

Midrsv

Midrsv

Posted
Posted
the bmw in the video, and in the tests is not similarly sized. it's got a hell of alot more mass.

 

True, but it is C class Mercedes which is the smallest model, a subcompact I believe. It would be interesting to see the results against a full size car or SUV. I wonder if it would wrinkle my Tahoe's bumper?

 

DT

Squeeze

Squeeze

Posted
Posted

A C-Class is a full Size car, not the biggest, but full Size. There are smaller Cars from Mercedes, like A-Class and B-Class. btw - Smart is also Part of the Mercedes Thrust.

 

One shouldn't mix up the Demolition of the Vehicle with Safety.

 

Smaller Cars are destroyed on Purpose in a Hit, sacrificing the Car to safe the Passengers. That's why they are complete Wrecks after a Crash. A bigger Car with a Lot more Safety Room to demolish and a bigger Mass will sure look better after a Crash, but you can't take that as an Indicator for the Safety of the Passengers during a Crash Situation.

 

That said, i don't like the Smart either, not only because it's to tiny, but also for several other Reasons.

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