spear Posted July 16, 2009 #26 Posted July 16, 2009 Well, I don't care what you all say. I just reckon they don't know how to spell 'smart' in this instance. Down-under we spell it 'd-u-m-b'. I'll just stick with my Subaru Outback H6 thank you very much! (Now - there's a car ! ! ! ! )
MiCarl Posted July 16, 2009 #27 Posted July 16, 2009 I'd like to see how either one of those cars would hold up to a mid '70s Cadillac. Boy, remember the 60s and 70s cars? You could crash them like that and they'd still be driveable. Sure, the occupants would all be dead...................... 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.
jemorrisonjr Posted July 16, 2009 #28 Posted July 16, 2009 Maybe it someones idea to get rid of the tree huggers who think these cars are great.....
Yammer Dan Posted July 16, 2009 #29 Posted July 16, 2009 Last Idiot I met destroyed my Buick. I made it into the ambulance under my own power. In a Smart car??
CrazyHorse Posted July 16, 2009 #30 Posted July 16, 2009 (edited) the bmw in the video, and in the tests is not similarly sized. it's got a hell of alot more mass. What I mean the ratings 5 star etc means against similar size vehicle. I d hate to see that Smart car against a SUV or Large pickup . You not only have hard foward crash forces but a whiplash effect as you rocket backwards from the impact. Which will throw the body around like a rag doll. I believe in that video on an offset crash the head heads toward the A-pillar and smashes against it even after the airbag went off not a good thing. Theres not a lot of crush or collapsible area to dissipate an impact. I'm not trying to insult anyone for their choice of cars but those ratings are deceiving. Edited July 16, 2009 by CrazyHorse
Sailor Posted July 16, 2009 #31 Posted July 16, 2009 One problem with those cars is the light weight and boxy design. They had pictures of one in the Victoria paper after an accident. At first I thought the wreckage was a motorcycle. You could not tell it had been a car. It was on the highway when a gust of wind pushed it into the center divider, it hit that then went into a couple of cars. The driver survived but if there had been a passenger there is no way he could have survived, that entire side of the car was gone.
pegscraper Posted July 16, 2009 #32 Posted July 16, 2009 Maybe it someones idea to get rid of the tree huggers who think these cars are great..... If only that could work. The funny thing is that most tree huggers think that everyone should drive these things but them. They won't be caught in one. I passed one of these silly things on the road today. I think my bike's wheelbase is longer than that car. But what I really want to know is where is Ralph Nader now, hollering "unsafe at any speed"? The bandwagon is going the other way now, although nothing has really changed.
Midrsv Posted July 16, 2009 #33 Posted July 16, 2009 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. Nope, C class is the smaller car. The go C, E, S small to large. http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/#/vehicleComparisonMenu/ DT
a1bummer Posted July 16, 2009 #34 Posted July 16, 2009 It all boils down to simple physics. If you don't understand the simple laws of physics, then your opinion doesn't mean a whole hill of beans to me. Sorry if that sounds like an insult to some of you, it's not ment to be. As long as the safety gear does it's job and you can survive the crash, the rest doesn't matter. This goes for ANY vehicle. It doesn't matter if you drive the safest vehicle on the planet, there is always some jackass on a cellphone, smoking a cigarette, eating McDonalds, Driving with their knees, while trying to discipline the kids in the back who should be buckled into car seats, waiting to run you down.
Squeeze Posted July 16, 2009 #35 Posted July 16, 2009 Nope, C class is the smaller car. The go C, E, S small to large. http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/#/vehicleComparisonMenu/ DT Oh, I'm sorry. Seems, they don't sell the smaller Classes in US.
Sailor Posted July 17, 2009 #36 Posted July 17, 2009 For small I would put up my old Austin Healy, Triumph, or MGA against a smart car. Those cars were solid steel and built for tough competition.
Yammer Dan Posted July 17, 2009 #37 Posted July 17, 2009 It all boils down to simple physics. If you don't understand the simple laws of physics, then your opinion doesn't mean a whole hill of beans to me. Sorry if that sounds like an insult to some of you, it's not ment to be. As long as the safety gear does it's job and you can survive the crash, the rest doesn't matter. This goes for ANY vehicle. It doesn't matter if you drive the safest vehicle on the planet, there is always some jackass on a cellphone, smoking a cigarette, eating McDonalds, Driving with their knees, while trying to discipline the kids in the back who should be buckled into car seats, waiting to run you down. Or Drunk or High! I seem to find them all!!
jneed53 Posted July 17, 2009 #38 Posted July 17, 2009 Funny, but I parked the RSV next to a Smart Car and the bike was longer. I thought it might be when I was passing one on the highway. I just kept looking back and forth from the "car" and my scoot to determine that I could take him.
dynodon Posted July 17, 2009 #39 Posted July 17, 2009 Since cars built in the US today all must meet basic safety standards, then physics will win out most of the time when a heavier vehicle hits a smaller vehicle. If I drive a 4000 pound car and hit a I run the club for the Ford Taurus SHO. I have several members that are alive today because the Taurus (and SHO Taurus) are some of the safest cars on the roads today, even if more than 10 or 15 years old! My friends are alive because the car was strong enough to protect them from the worst. We have two direct examples of people sitting in their cars after the accident, hearing the EMT's come up and say (direct quote): "It's a Taurus, they might be alive". I know that for a very small car, the Smart car has a pretty strong and safe frame/cage. That still doesn't mean I would trust my grandchildren to one!
ArticusMedicus Posted July 17, 2009 #40 Posted July 17, 2009 It is this medic's opinion, that crash test are in no way indicative of real life scenarios. I want to see what that matchbox toy does VS a tree, A guard rail, a dear, a ditch, a semi truck, an SUV (like my Tahoe)....A bison. ( yes I have seen that happen here in MI... Not pretty) I want to see what impact real traveling conditions have on the out come of the crash. Drivers side T-Bone for instance. Crash on a curve with a good degree of slope to it. Highway type side swipe. Or any number of non-scientifically calculated collisions. I bet a T-bone would show two to three feet of intrusion into the passenger compartment. I hope these cars all come with DNR orders.
1 Canuck Posted July 17, 2009 #41 Posted July 17, 2009 I think you'd better get two of them...put the second one in front of the first and call it an AIR BAG!
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