Living in the land of Hummers, giant trucks and SUV's as big as Yankee Stadium, I had to chuckle with the news that DaimlerChrysler is looking to launch their miniscule two-seat Smart car onto the US market. All I can say is... Fat chance! Forget the fact that it has great fuel efficiency — the Smart fortwo can get around 40 miles per gallon — and can park in the narrowest of spaces, (If you've ever tried to find a parking space in New York city, you'd realize what a boon this could be) the biggest hurdle DaimlerChrysler will have to overcome is convincing American drivers braving roads filled with vehicles the size of Panzer tanks that the micro-car is also safe.
At just 8.8 feet long and slightly wider and taller than 5 feet, it's already one of the smallest cars on any road; weighing around 1,700 pounds. Compare that to a Ford Explorer, an SUV 6 feet high, 6 feet wide and 16 feet long, weighing 4,606 pounds, and it's not hard to see why you might want to think twice about hitting the great American Highway.
Best of all though is the quote from Russ Rader of the Arlington, Va.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "The laws of physics can't be repealed. Even with modern safety features like multiple air bags, people in small, light cars are always at a disadvantage in crashes." Needless to say, the IIHS is funded by the insurance industry, backed up by several thousand lobbyists in Washington... So, like I said at the beginning of this rant. If you're looking to buy a SmartCar anytime soon in the US... Fat chance!
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A million dollars to the first buyer in Houston!
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» SmartCar, Daimler-Chrysler's Mini-Car ,Makes The New Yorker from AutoMill
It's not often The New Yorker writes about the automotive industry. But there it is in the Talk of the Town section in the Sept. 17 issue of the wondrous weekly. It's a piece on the Smart Car Fortwo.Author David... [Read More]
Tracked on: September 19, 2007 10:33 PM | Permalink to Trackback