2008 Smart commuter car gets 40 mpg and will selling in USA for $12k.

Considering it's a Mercedes product that's very disappointing.

Mercedes do actually make a small car under their own brand but don't sell that
in the USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_A-Class

Graham

 

It's not THAT small. Almost... ;-)

In New York City, home of the "Sucker Pole" - you lock your
expensive bicycle up to the "No Parking" sign, and you can come back
in thirty seconds and both the bike and lock are gone.

They drill out or chisel off and remove the rivet at the base that
holds the pole into the sidewalk, the whole thing slides right out.

And if the rivet is still there, it doesn't take much longer to
remove it, but they have to have Big Brass Ones to do it in daylight
hours with the bike there.

--<< Bruce >>--

 

It's not THAT small. Almost... ;-)

In New York City, home of the "Sucker Pole" - you lock your
expensive bicycle up to the "No Parking" sign, and you can come back
in thirty seconds and both the bike and lock are gone.

They drill out or chisel off and remove the rivet at the base that
holds the pole into the sidewalk, the whole thing slides right out.

And if the rivet is still there, it doesn't take much longer to
remove it, but they have to have Big Brass Ones to do it in daylight
hours with the bike there.

--<< Bruce >>--

 

Waiving the right to remain silent, Eeyore

Mercedes cars are consistently rated as unreliable in Consumer Reports for
several years in a row. Pretty much the entire model line available in
the USA.

 

Waiving the right to remain silent, Eeyore

Mercedes cars are consistently rated as unreliable in Consumer Reports for
several years in a row. Pretty much the entire model line available in
the USA.

 

I seem to remember them coming in pretty near last!

 

I seem to remember them coming in pretty near last!

 

In "Anybody's Bike Book" Tom Cuthbertson suggests all bikes weigh 50 lbs. A
20 lb bike needs a 30 lb lock, a 30 lb bike needs a 20 lb lock, and a 50 lb
bike needs no lock at all!

 

In "Anybody's Bike Book" Tom Cuthbertson suggests all bikes weigh 50 lbs. A
20 lb bike needs a 30 lb lock, a 30 lb bike needs a 20 lb lock, and a 50 lb
bike needs no lock at all!

 

Mercedes is well below the top on the dependability list in the USA...
The top is a toss up between Toyota and Honda..

JT

 

Mercedes is well below the top on the dependability list in the USA...
The top is a toss up between Toyota and Honda..

JT

 

Waiving the right to remain silent, "Bonehenge (B A R R Y)"

Correct.

 

Waiving the right to remain silent, "Bonehenge (B A R R Y)"

Correct.

 

What's totally hilarious is when you bring up that stat with a
Mercedes owner, and they go into a diatribe about precision, all those
features are complicated, etc...

Then you point out that the just as complicated and loaded Lexus comes
out at or near the top. <G>

 

What's totally hilarious is when you bring up that stat with a
Mercedes owner, and they go into a diatribe about precision, all those
features are complicated, etc...

Then you point out that the just as complicated and loaded Lexus comes
out at or near the top. <G>

 

The propensity to roll over is a function of the CG, the track (the
distance between left and right wheels), not the wheelbase (the
distance from front and rear wheels.) In practice, the performance of
the suspension will play a significant role as well. As for the
relative propensity of SUVs and trucks vs. cars, I quote form e IIHS:


3. Are rollovers more common for SUVs than for other vehicles?
Rollovers are much more common for SUVs and pickups than for cars, and
more common for SUVs than for pickups. This has been true in the past
and continues to be so. In 2005, 60 percent of SUV occupants killed in
crashes were in vehicles that rolled over. In comparison, 46 percent
of deaths in pickups and 24 percent of deaths in cars were in
rollovers.

Pickups and SUVs tend to be involved in rollovers more frequently than
cars largely due to the physical differences of these vehicles. Light
trucks are taller than cars and have greater ground clearance, causing
their mass to be distributed higher off the road relative to the width
of the vehicle. Additional passengers and cargo can increase the
center of gravity even more. Other things being equal, a vehicle with
a higher center of gravity is more prone to rollover than a lower
riding vehicle.

So, A Civic running into another Civic is more likely to result in
death than an Explorer running into a semi? If larger and heavier is
invariably safer, why are car death rates only half of what they were
30 years ago when the average car was much heavier. As usual, Mike,
your language and claims are imprecise and misleading.

Driving around in a monster SUV may (or may not) increase your safety
but it certainly increases the risk for everyone else, and not just
because the mass is greater. It is the elevated ride height which is
the biggest factor in increased risk to others. Well designed small
cars do very well in barrier collisions.

The reason that the Senate did not raise CAFE standards at that time
was lobbying by the big three. If the Senate wanted to make a
rational decision they would have to consider whether the reduced
occupant death rate in an SUV outweighs the increased death rate in
the vehicle it hits.

By the way, the highway death rates do not include the skyrocketing
number of little kids who get crushed by SUVs backing out of the
driveway. More and more SUV drivers are finding out that an
unexpected bump was their four-year-old running out to say goodbye to
mommy. Goodbye mommy.

As previously mentioned, the car death rate is much lower now than it
was in the 1970s. And the rate in the 70s was lower than the 60s and
50s. Cars are much safer now than they used to be and they will be
even safer when the SUVs start disappearing.

If they are driving gas-guzzling cars, they will be much less of a
risk to drivers of economy cars than if they are driving SUVs like
they are now.

There are legitimate uses for SUVs and pickups, but unfortunately most
are not being used in these ways. A combination of taxes and
technical restrictions could ensure that they are only purchased by
people who really need them.

 

The propensity to roll over is a function of the CG, the track (the
distance between left and right wheels), not the wheelbase (the
distance from front and rear wheels.) In practice, the performance of
the suspension will play a significant role as well. As for the
relative propensity of SUVs and trucks vs. cars, I quote form e IIHS:


3. Are rollovers more common for SUVs than for other vehicles?
Rollovers are much more common for SUVs and pickups than for cars, and
more common for SUVs than for pickups. This has been true in the past
and continues to be so. In 2005, 60 percent of SUV occupants killed in
crashes were in vehicles that rolled over. In comparison, 46 percent
of deaths in pickups and 24 percent of deaths in cars were in
rollovers.

Pickups and SUVs tend to be involved in rollovers more frequently than
cars largely due to the physical differences of these vehicles. Light
trucks are taller than cars and have greater ground clearance, causing
their mass to be distributed higher off the road relative to the width
of the vehicle. Additional passengers and cargo can increase the
center of gravity even more. Other things being equal, a vehicle with
a higher center of gravity is more prone to rollover than a lower
riding vehicle.

So, A Civic running into another Civic is more likely to result in
death than an Explorer running into a semi? If larger and heavier is
invariably safer, why are car death rates only half of what they were
30 years ago when the average car was much heavier. As usual, Mike,
your language and claims are imprecise and misleading.

Driving around in a monster SUV may (or may not) increase your safety
but it certainly increases the risk for everyone else, and not just
because the mass is greater. It is the elevated ride height which is
the biggest factor in increased risk to others. Well designed small
cars do very well in barrier collisions.

The reason that the Senate did not raise CAFE standards at that time
was lobbying by the big three. If the Senate wanted to make a
rational decision they would have to consider whether the reduced
occupant death rate in an SUV outweighs the increased death rate in
the vehicle it hits.

By the way, the highway death rates do not include the skyrocketing
number of little kids who get crushed by SUVs backing out of the
driveway. More and more SUV drivers are finding out that an
unexpected bump was their four-year-old running out to say goodbye to
mommy. Goodbye mommy.

As previously mentioned, the car death rate is much lower now than it
was in the 1970s. And the rate in the 70s was lower than the 60s and
50s. Cars are much safer now than they used to be and they will be
even safer when the SUVs start disappearing.

If they are driving gas-guzzling cars, they will be much less of a
risk to drivers of economy cars than if they are driving SUVs like
they are now.

There are legitimate uses for SUVs and pickups, but unfortunately most
are not being used in these ways. A combination of taxes and
technical restrictions could ensure that they are only purchased by
people who really need them.

 

Jeff wrote:

All cars eject unbelted occupants in roll-overs.

Where have you been for the last hundred years?



Jack

 

Jeff wrote:

All cars eject unbelted occupants in roll-overs.

Where have you been for the last hundred years?



Jack

 

An SUV isn't a car.

And SUVs are more likely to rollover than a car.

For most of them, I wasn't even conceived.

Jeff