Smart, Wall. Wall, Smart.

[Spinalguy]

Hmmm....$24,000 for a loaded convertible that gets MORE mpg than any you listed and is in fact cheaper and has a RESALE value of $500 depreciation off sticker price kinda puts it in a class all its own.
Obviously looks are opinions. i like it! :lol:

[RACKMAN]

I NEVER said that Hondas, Toyotas, or VWs got more mpg, I was referring to the overall practicality of those cars over a GO-CART (smartcar).

RACKMAN

[FeatherFoot]

Getting to the space station requires the occupants to be positioned correctly to survive the G force of accileration.   Dragsters of today have problems on some tracks getting stopped within the limits of the G force required to stop the vehicle within the run out limits of the track.

By the same token, there is a limit to how fast a human body can stop without turning into gelly rgardless of what it is surrounded by.  From highway speed to zero in something like 3 feet has to be in the order of several magnitudes of what a body can withstand.  You'd go through a five point harness like an egg through a slicer.  An air bag with enough pressure to stop you would provide limited survival assistance.

The impressive aspect of the demo is the incredible strength of the cage.  In a glancing collision and the subsequent roll, you'd probably do a lot better than most vehicles.  

Oh, and to raise an eyebrow or two, the impact force to a vehicle being stoped in a straight head on collision with a similar vehicle, is no greater than hitting a solid wall. :wink:

[Spinalguy]

And.....
the speed of acceleration of the occupants is 2.5 times the speed of impact :shock:

[FeatherFoot]

So vehicles should be designed with a crush zone calculated on an exponential value related to the intended maximum speed.  Hmm...a sixty five foot TJ with a 60 foot hood.  That'd take a pretty good lift to regain your breakover angle.
 
Or, taking advantage of relativity, highways could be designed like huge one way conveyor belts complete with moving trees and approaches.  You pull on from the moving approach, park, and have a tailgate party on the trip to Edmonton.  Calgarians would likely consider that to be a wake, but why you party is your prerogative.

I'm still working on the dynamics of the moving approaches, so don't start construction just yet.

And from our standpoint, Lost Knife will likely be paved and an elevator fitted to Killer Cutline, so there we go!

[Jaguar]

Yep.. looks good.....notice no crash test dummies in there? Like everyone was saying, there is no crumple zone in that thing to increase the distance the driver takes to stop... Yes, a fullsized crash looks WAY worse, but it was designed to do that. That's the safety feature. Because the car held up, doesn't mean you will. That glass/plastic, sure shattered... the inside of that thing looked too mangled for anyone to feel good after that.... But atleast the door works! lol

I don't trust the drivers in this city, and I want to put as much metal between me and them as I can

[TJ54]

 He says that as a fact, the smart car has the HIGHEST saftey rating in the history of rating cars. No other vehicle has been rated as safe as a smartcar.

My understanding is that it is the safest car in it's class.

It is also the only car in it's class.

I have seen several demos of head on impact. I like to see one of a T-bone/side impact type test.

I'm going to wait a while and see how it fares in the real world before I comment on how safe I think it is. I wouldn't buy one, I simply find them ugly. And trendy, I would never want to be accused of being trendy. :wink:  I like my jeep with it's fifty year old  design.

[RACKMAN]

Yep.. looks good.....notice no crash test dummies in there? Like everyone was saying, there is no crumple zone in that thing to increase the distance the driver takes to stop... Yes, a fullsized crash looks WAY worse, but it was designed to do that. That's the safety feature. Because the car held up, doesn't mean you will. That glass/plastic, sure shattered... the inside of that thing looked too mangled for anyone to feel good after that.... But atleast the door works! lol

I don't trust the drivers in this city, and I want to put as much metal between me and them as I can

Excellent points! I was  just thinking about all the hundreds of accidents I see because I'm on the road so much...Basically, it seems that the bigger  vehicle generally comes out looking like it faired better than the smaller vehicle involved, with few exceptions. But i think the makers of this go-cart are counting on having the thousands of mindless sheep walking around out there, to jump on the band-wagon of the save-the- world-because-David Suzuki- said-so. :lol:  :roll: But you know, I'm glad they make this piece of crap because whenever I see one sitting in a parking lot I can't help but laugh, and it's even more funny when I see two people crammed in one wih their groceries or packages...And laughter is a very good thing! :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :wink:

RACKMAN

[Spinalguy]

Tell us how you really, really feel Rackman :lol:

[RACKMAN]

Oh come on now Spinalguy...don't get defensive about your ownership or future ownership of the go-cart. Don't cry, at least they are sooo cute...APPARENTLY. :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

RACKMAN

[apex]

Oh come on now Spinalguy...don't get defensive about your ownership or future ownership of the go-cart. Don't cry, at least they are sooo cute...APPARENTLY. :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

RACKMAN

Bwahahahahahahahahahah  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Spinalguy]

he,he,he.....i know my wife will look cute in it as for me.....i won't be in it too often.
i was more referring to the Suzuki love you had going on in your post :wink:

Tom

[CM ONE]

Looks like they dwarf YJ's.  :wink:

http://photochannel.telusmobility.com/getImage?pid=ph1560421530459&size=IMAGE_RES_4&e=ec1v2227258660372d93745&m=93745

[jeepsucks]

Hmmm....$24,000 for a loaded convertible that gets MORE mpg than any you listed and is in fact cheaper and has a RESALE value of $500 depreciation off sticker price kinda puts it in a class all its own.
Obviously looks are opinions. i like it! :lol:

Resale, mpg are ok if your into stats. What I really like are the McInnas & Hollaway door handles.

When Jeeps aren't pathetic enough, there is always the smart car. :mrgreen:

[FeatherFoot]

The smarts not for me now and my circumstances may never synch with it, but I'm old enough to remember the comments when the first VW's and later the Datsuns first arrived in the showrooms here.  I, a staunch GMer at the time, was probably as critical as any when I first saw them.

However, I think there is a high probability that these or some variant of what we see now, once we understand their niche, will be a significant component of our city commuting options.

They are a little out of place here with our prairie sprawl and unrealistic expectations of suburbia, but in areas of high density, which will be everywhere eventually, hummers and escalades just wont work.

How many examples of the North American model of City expansion do you know, where traffic problems have improved rather than declined over the years.

My only problem with the video is the implication that a strong roll cage is the full measure of safety, but as a specalty vehicle, we (particularly Jeep drivers) should understand the idiosyncrasy of niche markets as well as anyone.