Smart Roadster Could Prolong the Fad, But in U.S., It's Not

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  madmilker09/06/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Smart Roadster Could Prolong the Fad, But in U.S., It's Not "foryou"

  is2

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  jamie@...09/08/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Smart Roadster Could Prolong the Fad, But in U.S., It's Not

  As a European smart roadster driver, I cannot but agree with your sentiments. However, you do not totally do the fourtwo justice.
  
  You miss out three very relevant facts;
  
  1. The fourtwo is designed to meet EU safety standards and as such, the triple layered tridion shell is extremely strong and will probably come off the better of a smart vs truck confrontation. There is a story in the UK smartclub magazine from a Canadian forutwo driver who had exactly that situation and puts his continued existence down to the smart's strong safety cage.
  
  2. You compare it to a Subaru Outback purely on price. The smart is built for a very specific niche - it is a commuter car. It is and was never designed to be an SUV or a family wagon. It will return well over 50mpg (imperial) which further justifies its market.
  
  3. The fourtwo was the second most environmentally friendly car you could buy according to a recent study by a UK University. (The smart roadster was #1). This study reported on the basis of a "dust to dust" view - i.e. the environmental impact of producing the car, the impact of a lifetime of running one and the impact of disposal and recycling at end of life. For reference, the fashionable favourite of Hollywood, the Toyota Prius was 12th.
  
  I am sure that the costs of shipping the units from Europe to the States may well add a bit to the overall impact, they still make very good "green" sense.
  
  I should also point out, that I have been able to do a full week's grocery shopping in my roadie and have driven it from Scotland to Paris (France) and back in 3 days and still been comfortable for the whole trip, so they are acceptable freeway cruisers.

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  jamie@...09/08/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Smart Roadster Could Prolong the Fad, But in U.S., It's Not

  The lick to an article about the study I mention above...
  
  http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/228261/