Compared to a Ferrari, they're cheap and get great gas mileage.

That's exactly what makes me wonder why Harley-Davidson motorcycles are still in business.

In Vail, CO I see the Smart cars quite often. I would guess at there being about 20-30 of them owned and running around town.

If I was going to get a Smart car here is the one I want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck

A Smart car with a Hayabusa engine in it.

Oh and on the original picture.

From Worth1000.com

http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp...play=photoshop

I am a member and recognized those photos. They have had three "Carnocchio - Coupe de Exaggeration" contests so far.



P.S. How do you embed a YouTube? I tried the HTML tags and those put my embed link in a quote-esque box.

Lousy mileage? There are only two cars in 2008 in the USA that get better gas mileage than the Smart, and they are both Hybrids that cost much more.

The Smart isn't as cheap as I'd hope it would be, but that's the fault of the weak dollar. It's around $12K - $17K. Still cheaper than most cars on the market. But admittedly not the cheapest.

It is a two seater though. You got that one right.

Why would anyone waste their money? Well, it's a great car for around town, because it's very nimble and can park easily almost anywhere. It uses very little gas. It's better for the environment than almost any other car (including the hybrids, because is has no huge banks of toxic batteries to manufacture and later dispose of.) And finally, it's a head turner. Some people like that.

Smart Car 70 mph impact against a concrete barrier...

This man has no legs. (The brake caliper is about a fifth the length of the car...)

I think they are all shopped from the link in post 18.

The original smart car.

I LOVE my Purple Honda Fit, I have hauled all number of things in it. I thought the full bookcase was the greatest thing until I brought home this huge plant, that had traveled to my school laying down, standing upright in the back seat area. I want a car I can load up and not tear up. The smart cars aren't very useful. I have to admit I also enjoy the 32 miles per gallon I get most of the time. Not too bad with the gas prices down, still not enough when they are way up there. We are at $3.71.

Smart Cars have 8 cubic feet of storage. Fits have 44.

Smart Cars get 33 city/41 highway mpg. Fits get 27 city/34 highway.

Well, that's what the websites say. I get on average 30 MPG in the city. My girlfriend gets significantly less, because she drives more aggressively.

A Smart Car is about $13K if you want A/C and music. Our Fit is costing us $16K with basically nothing added. (standard model, automatic trans, power windows, CD Player, A/C, power locks ... the basic package).

So, buy a SC and save $3K. You get 3-6 more MPG in the city and maybe 7 MPG more on the highway. You can carry some groceries or a gym bag or maybe a set of ultralight backpacking gear. In our Fit, we loaded that sucker completely full. So full we could barely see out of the back window. That's enough that when we moved, we didn't need much other than furniture. Clothing, books, movies, some lamps, etc.

I can't really stress enough how much I like our Fit.

Of course, any truly smart car would say "no" to 'roids.

I still don't get it: my Honda CRX Si got about 35 mpg as the norm. There was an HF version that got about 50 mpg. Why do cars get less gas mileage now? Shouldn't they be "improving" this aspect?

Those Fits look pretty nice, though...I like the sporty model with 5-speed.

When I owned a Geo Metro I think I was averaging around 38-42 MPG depending on if I was in city or doing a long drive. And that was back in about 1994. Not sure why 15 years later 30 MPG is the bragging gas mileage when I got much better back in the day.

Granted that 3 cylinder car had less horsepower than my lawnmower but still it was a great car for gas mileage and until I got my MINI Cooper, the best car I owned in the snow.

Now I own a MINI and am happy with my 24 MPG. The "only" 24 MPG is because the supercharger sports model is heavy and fast. And I drive it like that.

Yeah, I got more than 24mpg in my 16v gli Jetta. I think emissions standards are one cause... and doesn't adding ethanol to the gas reduce mpg too?

[not to brag but: Honda Insight, average over 5.5-years: 66.7 mpg - in the mountains]