| Author | Message | ||
     Fester99 |
I am thinking about getting a Smart Car take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck&feature =related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5S1NAMnYKM&feature =related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi_CgGGDglY&feature =related These have Busa motors in them. (Message edited by fester99 on May 30, 2008) | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
you should try building one with some v twin power. | ||
| Jaimec |
For the about the same amount of money as a standard Smart4Two, my K1200LT: 1) Seats the same number of passengers 2) Carries the same amount of luggage (maybe even more) 3) Accelerates harder 4) Attains a higher top speed 5) Gets BETTER gas mileage 6) Provides nearly the same weather protection 7) Is equipped with anti-lock brakes 8) Has heated seats, cruise control, and a sound system 9) Requires less parking space So put me down as "I don't get it." (Message edited by jaimec on May 30, 2008) | ||
| Tramp |
Me and a borrowed Smartcar, Kutna Hora, CZ Spring '07  I loved it, frankly- reminded me of what my friends behind the iron curtain used to say about their (fiberglass bodied, two-stroke triple) East German Trabants: "Most comfortable motorcycle I've ever owned" | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Flipping lil Mario kart, If you have to get one, get one with the Busa motor  | ||
| Chainsaw |
I think the Smart Roadster was a cool car. 57mpg, 3 liter Mercedes engine, and no longer in production.   | ||
| Swordsman |
"6) Provides nearly the same weather protection 7) Is equipped with anti-lock brakes 8) Has heated seats, cruise control, and a sound system " #6: is obviously an exaggeration. #7: The Smart comes with every freakin' safety feature known to man. Including anti-lock brakes. And I've heard rumors of a Trunk Monkey option. #8: Dunno about the heated seats, but I know it comes with the others. Now, lets see what the Smart has that you don't: 1.) 2 more wheels. Stop, leave your feet on the floor, and see what happens then. 2.) Seatbelts. 3.) Air bags. 4.) A cage. ..... and why are we comparing motorcycle specs to a car.... I forget...?  I'd be embarrassed to admit I bought a bike that costed as much as a well equipped automobile. ~SM | ||
| Slaughter |
Or get a 10 year old Saturn SC1. Carries 4, decent luggage, will pull motorcycle trailer and when new would get 44 highway (measured) And we still have it with 330,000 miles on the original engine but now it only gets 38 mpg on our LA/Phoenix run | ||
| Spike |
I like the idea of smaller and more efficient cars, but for the price of a Smart you could buy a Toyota Yaris and get a back seat, real trunk, and ~40 more horsepower while only paying about a ~4mpg penalty. | ||
| Spike |
If that's the case, you have three options: 1- Forget the price you paid for your XB12 2- Never learn the price of a Smart 3- Be embarrassed | ||
| Swordsman |
$10k automobiles are not well equipped. By a long shot. I know, I just finished scouting them out last year. ~SM | ||
| Fester99 |
I think the point of the post has been missed. The point of this was to point out the fact that there are modified Smart Cars with Busa Motors, that are silly fast and even waxed a Ferrari. For the record I would NEVER drive or own a Smart Car, unless it has a Busa motor of course. LOL (Message edited by fester99 on May 30, 2008) | ||
| Reepicheep |
Total thread hijack, but +1 Slaughter. Sold my 1995 Saturn SC2 (the *fast* one ) at 160k miles, no major problems. It was just hurting my back, I'm a bit big for it (not so the SL's). Just finished the search for a replacement, and got a 2001 Saab 9-3 for $7k (94k miles). They sludge if you don't maintain them, and blow engines, so their resale values have suffered a lot. Pay a Saab guy $300 to drop the pan and pop off a crank bearing shell and inspect, and if it comes up clean, buy it, then run full syn and keep the oil changed, and you can expect 160k out of the original turbo, more out of the motor. 33 MPG highway, 210 HP, 5 person seating (4 comfortably), pulls a trailer with two bikes easily. Tons of luggage space. Probably will have leather interior and heated seats, traction control, ABS, and a pretty good stereo. Cup holders suck though. You can get the convertable for even less, but the top struts leak, then the motors burn out, a $500+ repair. | ||
| Swordsman |
I had a manual '95 SL-1. No... power...nuthin'. But it had cruise control... go figure! Aside from seats that felt like they were carved from cardboard and the turn radius of a school bus, I LOVED that thing! 38mpg, no matter how I ragged it. ~SM | ||
| Tramp |
I have a swell 1986 CRX that gets insane mileage for sale- NY metro region- CHEEP! Also a cool 1984 Volvo 240 (4 cyl.) that gets great mileage... silly cheeep! | ||
| Swordsman |
LOL... CRX... man, that's my favorite car of all time! I've always LOVED the styling. I'd just be scared to drive one... unlike the Smart, they wad up pretty bad in a wreck. ~SM | ||
| Spike |
The Smart is $11,5-$13,5, an XB12 is $10,5. You're already paying nearly as much, and the Smart is certainly better equipped than your Buell. | ||
| Tramp |
I never drove the CRX, aside from a test drive. Picked it up in a trade. | ||
| P47b |
Reminds me of The Lecar or a Yogo. Wonder if they last as long. (Message edited by p47b on May 30, 2008) | ||
| Hammer71 |
Jay, I may need to check it out. Lookin for a beater. | ||
| Birdy |
Saw one in Fort Wayne. I like small cars BUT the Smart Car was so small it looked like you'd be toast if a Goldwing hit ya! After all it's only 8 1/2 foot long. BUT with the price of gas I bet we start to see more and more of these little cars as they do make sense in town...I hate to do a cross country road trip in one better a XB12! Of course my Civic get around 40 and will seat 5 has a big trunk and is safer than any car I've ever owned before. | ||
| Midknyte |
Half as much as a SmartCar... http://www.tangotrikes.com/  | ||
| Cyclonemduece |
lets not forget you must burn 93 octane thru the smart fortwo, so with the added price of premium fuel there are many other cars that are just as cheap to drive. and not quite as gay. | ||
| Rah7777777 |
I work at a Benz dealer and we carry those matchbox cars! kinda fun to drive. clutch/trans system is odd, but gets the job done. Actually had one the other day come into the body shop. got rear-ended by a explorer. the explorer was totaled and the smart needed some new plastics. They hold up very very well for such a small car! The smart car tech is one stall over and usually has about 10 of them squeezed into 3 stalls for PDI's. i'll have to grab a pic sometime, very funny at first sight! | ||
| Bill0351 |
I watched this video a bunch of times. I am totally impressed. Bill | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I have a friend of mine that got one of the first 2nd generation smarts in WA. I have put quite a few miles on it. As a gag he actually got WA state to approve his vanity plates "DethTrap"  A little preface to my review. I LOVE small unique cars. I seriously thought about getting on the smart waiting list last year. I am glad I didn't Cons First off the fuel economy is not that good. Real world is around 34mpg. The european/canadian diesel is what it was really designed for. The transmission (manu-matic) will drive you nuts. Seriously this is the WORST transmission I have ever seen. In automatic mode it is very slow, and will lug the little motor. In manual mode it is better, but you end up flogging the little car (more on that later). This is a little car that is begging for a CVT. The automatic climate control is a little eager, even on low fan speed it is very loud. They really need to provide a lower fan setting. Much like our buells you can't go anywhere without a horde of people asking stupid questions. "It's electric right?" Did I mention the transmission. No? Well it sucks... Pros Cool Many big car features available. Good stereo, leather, glass roof (actually poly) heated seats, auto wipers, auto climate control, etc... Replaceable body panels (for less than $400 you can have a new color installed) Very roomy. My friend is 6.5ft tall. He fits with plenty of room. GREAT engine sound. Wind up the little motor and it sounds fantastic inside. That of course hurts fuel economy. Very safe design. Cheap They will continue to sell like hotcakes until something cooler arrives. The smart is a good fashion statement. | ||
| Spike |
Just a random tidbit- I was talking to a buddy of mine last night. He just got back from a road trip with his '06 Civic 5-spd. On his last tank of gas he averaged 40.2mpg. I'm sure a Smart would have returned better mileage over the same trip, but how much better? Considering the Civic offers double the horsepower and vastly more cargo space the Smart would have to offer dramatically better mileage before I'd consider it as a serious option. I'm glad there are vehicles like the Smart on the market, but the reality is that exceptional fuel mileage is already available from "normal" cars. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Those new civics are tough to beat. Don't confuse highway and city, made hard because city is so variable. On super slab at 65 MPH, my Saab 9-3 will pull 32-34 MPG (depending on if I turn on the AC). In the drive to work (country highway with a few stops), I can nurse it up to 27 mpg... barely. In city driving, I am lucky to crack 25. Same thing with my old Saturn SC-2. I was lucky to crack 25 in the city, and lucky to get 30 on the freeway. So while 35 city may not be that exciting on paper, thats still pretty good, and for a lot of people could end up saving them $4 to $8 per day. Whats the real life city milage on a civic hybrid or prius? All the more reason to love my XB... 43 mpg city or highway (and I have the fuel innefficient XB9 one), and it doesn't suck. | ||
| Bill0351 |
I just got back from a trip from Madison to Green Bay. My '02 Camry got 37.5 mpg on the highway. The average in mixed driving is right around 29 (according to the cars computer). The Camry is a pretty big car too, and I don't baby it. Does anybody remember the Civic VX from '92-'95? It had something like 100HP and got 48 mpg city and 55 hwy. If that was possible in 1992 with a very usable sized car, why does a 2008 Smart only get 34 city? Why all the complicated hybrids when a simple v-tec Honda tuned for mileage gets just about the same economy? And as for reliability? My '92 v-vtec Accord was sold to my neighbor kid with right around 300,000 miles on it. Two years later he is still beating the living **** out of it, and it is still running strong. I wonder how a Prius will be after 16 years and 1/3 of a million miles of abuse. In some ways it just seems like we have taken a huge step backward in the last few years. I am sure there is a reason for all of it... I'm just not seeing it. Bill | ||
| Thumper74 |
I had a Geo that was right up there with the Smart and averaged 50+ I would like to see this with a decent diesel in it... |
