October 9, 2008: Smart Cars On 'roids

Now this is how you encourage people to buy small, fuel efficient cars.

Take two available smart car models....


....add too much spare time, a lot of money, some fibreglass, bling wheels and you get the following


The Smovette


The Smaudi A3 AWD


The Smamborghini


The Smorsche


The Smorsche Targa


The Smerrari


Not 'shopies, these cars have been stripped down and basically kitted up to look HaWt.

I'll take a Smaudi A3 if the smart car version doesnt come with the Audi price tag.

Those are just adorable!

Not 'shopies,

I'm gonna have to say bullshit to that Duckie... I'm not gonna look for all the pics, but I recognized the Steppenwolf right off.... in fact I think I've posted the picture before.

those look like Matchbox cars !!!

I used to want a Smart Car. Then I looked more into them and realized my Fit is better.

jinx;491474 wrote:

I'm gonna have to say bullshit to that Duckie... I'm not gonna look for all the pics, but I recognized the Steppenwolf right off.... in fact I think I've posted the picture before.

touche. dig the poor clone tool technique

I saw a Smart car in Chicago this past weekend at the Marriot. What I want to know is where do you put the groceries? How do you take Fifi to the vet if there are two people?
Also this Smart car had license plates from Mexico!! :3_eyes: where was their luggage?

jinx;491474 wrote:

I'm gonna have to say bullshit to that Duckie... I'm not gonna look for all the pics, but I recognized the Steppenwolf right off.... in fact I think I've posted the picture before.

Ya big meanie jinx :p they still rock

This thread was a lot of fun until someone jinxed it.

Well, there's no reason why someone couldn't go ahead and make up those models anyway. You can get fibreglass kits to go over VW's to make them look like something they're not. Why not smart car kits?

smart car monster truck
[youtube]kGdDLvPZ_EM[/youtube]

They would be perfect for people with no legs. :rolleyes:

I don't get those little cars at all. (one the guys leaning on)

They cost a fortune, seat only two, and get lousy mileage. Why would anyone waste their money?

I saw enough Smart Cars in Florence that I stopped saying, "Oh look, a Smart Car". There it's about the ease of parking - their abbreviated length allows them to park perpendicularly to the curb mooshed between full-scale cars.

SPUCK;491596 wrote:

I don't get those little cars at all. (one the guys leaning on)

They cost a fortune, seat only two, and get lousy mileage. Why would anyone waste their money?

They're smart cars because they take your money, and give you a lawnmower instead of a car. Tiny coffins.

SPUCK;491596 wrote:

I don't get those little cars at all. (one the guys leaning on)

They cost a fortune, seat only two, and get lousy mileage. Why would anyone waste their money?

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

SPUCK;491596 wrote:

They cost a fortune, seat only two, and get lousy mileage. Why would anyone waste their money?

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.

With people caricature artists often exaggerate prominent facial features to make their subjects more recognizable, and also, funnier looking. It's an easy laugh, to be sure, but it's fun. In this contest we want you to do the same thing, but with a car. Take a picture of one automobile, and edit it to amusing, cartoony proportions. No mating two or more cars, just use one and exaggerate its features to bring out its personality!, as in our themepost.

From Worth1000.com

http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp?contest_id=9687&display=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.

SPUCK;491596 wrote:

I don't get those little cars at all. (one the guys leaning on)

They cost a fortune, seat only two, and get lousy mileage. Why would anyone waste their money?

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...

[youtube]ju6t-yyoU8s[/youtube]

xoxoxoBruce;491584 wrote:

They would be perfect for people with no legs. :rolleyes:

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.

Stress Puppy;491483 wrote:

I used to want a Smart Car. Then I looked more into them and realized my Fit is better.

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.

Shawnee123;492024 wrote:

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]

This is a better choice:

http://www.miniusa.com/#/MINIUSA.COM-m

30 mpg is no big deal. i drive a 4 cyl altima that gets 28.8 the way i drive it. it has a 20 gallon tank, so 580 mile range......bonus. plus i can fit 4 comfortably and i have a trunk. heres the kicker: you can buy one for 20k! and get low apr to help you.

buying those iddy biddy cars is as much about image as SUV and sports cars are.

we have the Commander that is getting 11.8 mpg because it looks cool as shit, and is damned useful. and we ARE john wayne mutherfuckers in my house, babe.

Regular Mini is pulling 34-36 mpg.

If the smart cars were really smart, they'd use Preparation H for those `roids you were talking about.

Yaris gets somewhere between 32-34 normally, but has gotten as much as 41 and as little as 30 :)

I like Smart cars.
I have no intention of driving one into a barrier at 70mph (same as I wouldn't a moped)

I'd love to have one.
Groceries? You can get more in there than you can on the bus, I can tell you.
Same with taking Diz to the vet.

It's all a matter or persective.
Small countries (old cities with no parking) need small cars.