Safest Small Car Ever?

[zvillepimp1982]

Could this possibly be the most safe small car on the planet? Damn those Germans are smart!

http://www.wimp.com/wall/

[XeroState]

Those cars are freaking amazing. We have them in Canada now (not sure about US). I first saw them in Italy. When Motoring (TSN auto show...lol) tested it, they praised everything about the car except its poor window de-fogging abilities in winter . Top speed of the Smart S (top of the line..I believe it is still called the 's') is 140kph..just for reference the redline speedo goes to 220. In Italy, they use this as a cop car (able to get in and out of their tight and busy roads), but a moped can out run it (can hit 160kph...trust me)

[Skyscreamer]

From what I am to understand they won't ever be sold in the US. They are also going out of production here in Canada as well. I had a buddy looking at them and he did alot of research. The company that makes them has been bought and sold I believe it's about 12 or 13 times now. They keep going bankrupt. They seem to be an awesome car, but if they last more then 3 years I'll be amazed.
~skyscreamer

[Coolbeans]

I saw one on the road here in Miami a few months ago. I took a picture of it with my phone, I'll see if I can find it.

I think there is an importer that has been trying to get them over here.

[geokots]

Originally Posted by Skyscreamer

From what I am to understand they won't ever be sold in the US. They are also going out of production here in Canada as well. I had a buddy looking at them and he did alot of research. The company that makes them has been bought and sold I believe it's about 12 or 13 times now. They keep going bankrupt. They seem to be an awesome car, but if they last more then 3 years I'll be amazed.
~skyscreamer

Not true. The car is doing well in Canada and very well in Europe specifically in major markets. The orriginal Smart car company did go bankrupt but that was a long time ago. Smart was bought by Mercedes 5 or 6 years ago... was overhalled right after MErcedes bought it and is the car we see today. Currently they are diesel only in Canada with a regular gas model coming next year. then the year after the for4 (currently the for2 is the only one available here). Smart is a successful division of Mercedes.

[XeroState]

Originally Posted by geokots

Not true. The car is doing well in Canada and very well in Europe specifically in major markets. The orriginal Smart car company did go bankrupt but that was a long time ago. Smart was bought by Mercedes 5 or 6 years ago... was overhalled right after MErcedes bought it and is the car we see today. Currently they are diesel only in Canada with a regular gas model coming next year. then the year after the for4 (currently the for2 is the only one available here). Smart is a successful division of Mercedes.

Aw, you beat me to it. Its a VERY good car.....if you don't require space...lol. (Though be forwarned that in winter the rear and side windows fog really bad)

[XxGarbSxX]

Yea, I saw a video on the making of the smart car. Everything about the car is designed to be environmentally friendly. Even the factory that makes it. And instead of using paint on it's body panels, they use powdercoat, which is more cost effective because there's no waste. Whatever doesn't stick to one car, is used on the next car on the assembly line. Go try and key one and nothing's gonna happen.

[XeroState]

Yep and their gas mileage is AMAZING...granted they are slow as hell (what is their 0-60 time, something like 25s or something) but if you are buying that car, you are not buying it for speed. They are cheap to buy, cheap to maintain (so far they haven't had a lot of problems in Canada), cheap on gas and can park ANYWHERE. (I saw one parked inbetween two parking meters IN BETWEEN TWO CARS...like normally where the front car of the one meter meets the rear car of the next meter..ya it was parked there).

[geokots]

While I do live in Toronto I don't live in the downtown core. I do have a friend (more of a business associate) that does and he owns one. For getting around in tight traffic and finding spots to park that no other car can it's amazing. I'm 6'3" and I fit surprisingly well.
one for the cool things about the car is the smart cell. It's the part that's always grey no matter the colour of the car and it looks almost like a Nike swoosh on a 45 degree angle. That's actually the frame of the car and what makes it so strong. Also the body panels are interchangable. Get bored of the colour, swap it out or mix and match.
I think I read somewhere that they will be opening up dealerships in the US soon (around a year). In Toronto they share space with Mercedes dealerships so I assume it would be the same down there.

[XeroState]

Ya, a friend from work, her boyfriends stepdad (lol..I think) has one. Cool little cars. In Italy we got to sit in one and learn about it. Their they have the Four2 and the Four4 (4 door style..looks SO funny) and a ragtop version of the Four2. All I saw in Italy was Mercedes, Smarts, Citroens (sp?), Pueguet (sp?), Porsche, Ferrari and random mopeds..lol.