DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
#241
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
TeGGeR® wrote:
> My suspicion as to why the "Smart" shows low collision and injury rates?
> Because nobody under the age of 50 drives one. Nobody under the age of 50
> can AFFORD one. 50-year-olds have collision rates far below those of
> younger drivers.
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
One of our car TV programs did a 50 or 70mph diagonal impact with a
concrete wall test in one, I'll see if i can find the video for our
viewing pleasure.
#242
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
TeGGeR® wrote:
> My suspicion as to why the "Smart" shows low collision and injury rates?
> Because nobody under the age of 50 drives one. Nobody under the age of 50
> can AFFORD one. 50-year-olds have collision rates far below those of
> younger drivers.
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
One of our car TV programs did a 50 or 70mph diagonal impact with a
concrete wall test in one, I'll see if i can find the video for our
viewing pleasure.
#243
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
Coyoteboy wrote:
> The smarts pass all safety checks in the european ncap tests with
> flying colours, which includes passenger space intrusion, shock loading
> etc regulations, better than a lot of larger cars. The reason they cost
> more is because getting this kind of protection in a smaller lighter
> vehicle takes a lot of hard work and design time, and testing.
>
> Personally I wouldnt drive one, they're ugly, but for a city/suburbs
> car they are ideal and perfectly safe, if not safer than the vast
> majority of yank tanks.
>
> J
When i say flying colours i mean it didnt fail miserably, it was rated
as 3-4* i think. Stil higher than a lot of modern cars. NCAP tests are
up to 40mph IIRC.
Heres a clip from the fifth gear crash test at 70mph. Naturally at that
speed the deceleration is rather drastic and probably fatal but that is
the same in all small cars, and cars are not designed and tested to
70mph anyway - the vast majority of accidents occur at lower speed and
dont involve a solid concrete wall like this vid.
as you can see from the picture the shell has almost zero intrusion
(havign watched the show its clearer, there was about 3inches shift in
the footwell area to one side but no dangerous 'trapping' or cutting
issues) but little other damage. The accelerations inside were rather
on the high side at that speed so it is assumed the driver would have
died, but ive yet to see a crash test that didnt say that and plenty of
peolpe do survive.
You do make an interesting point about loss of steering control due to
wheel contact, im not sure how they worked around that.
http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2005/12/video_smart_car.html
#244
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
Coyoteboy wrote:
> The smarts pass all safety checks in the european ncap tests with
> flying colours, which includes passenger space intrusion, shock loading
> etc regulations, better than a lot of larger cars. The reason they cost
> more is because getting this kind of protection in a smaller lighter
> vehicle takes a lot of hard work and design time, and testing.
>
> Personally I wouldnt drive one, they're ugly, but for a city/suburbs
> car they are ideal and perfectly safe, if not safer than the vast
> majority of yank tanks.
>
> J
When i say flying colours i mean it didnt fail miserably, it was rated
as 3-4* i think. Stil higher than a lot of modern cars. NCAP tests are
up to 40mph IIRC.
Heres a clip from the fifth gear crash test at 70mph. Naturally at that
speed the deceleration is rather drastic and probably fatal but that is
the same in all small cars, and cars are not designed and tested to
70mph anyway - the vast majority of accidents occur at lower speed and
dont involve a solid concrete wall like this vid.
as you can see from the picture the shell has almost zero intrusion
(havign watched the show its clearer, there was about 3inches shift in
the footwell area to one side but no dangerous 'trapping' or cutting
issues) but little other damage. The accelerations inside were rather
on the high side at that speed so it is assumed the driver would have
died, but ive yet to see a crash test that didnt say that and plenty of
peolpe do survive.
You do make an interesting point about loss of steering control due to
wheel contact, im not sure how they worked around that.
http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2005/12/video_smart_car.html
#245
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
Coyoteboy wrote:
> The smarts pass all safety checks in the european ncap tests with
> flying colours, which includes passenger space intrusion, shock loading
> etc regulations, better than a lot of larger cars. The reason they cost
> more is because getting this kind of protection in a smaller lighter
> vehicle takes a lot of hard work and design time, and testing.
>
> Personally I wouldnt drive one, they're ugly, but for a city/suburbs
> car they are ideal and perfectly safe, if not safer than the vast
> majority of yank tanks.
>
> J
When i say flying colours i mean it didnt fail miserably, it was rated
as 3-4* i think. Stil higher than a lot of modern cars. NCAP tests are
up to 40mph IIRC.
Heres a clip from the fifth gear crash test at 70mph. Naturally at that
speed the deceleration is rather drastic and probably fatal but that is
the same in all small cars, and cars are not designed and tested to
70mph anyway - the vast majority of accidents occur at lower speed and
dont involve a solid concrete wall like this vid.
as you can see from the picture the shell has almost zero intrusion
(havign watched the show its clearer, there was about 3inches shift in
the footwell area to one side but no dangerous 'trapping' or cutting
issues) but little other damage. The accelerations inside were rather
on the high side at that speed so it is assumed the driver would have
died, but ive yet to see a crash test that didnt say that and plenty of
peolpe do survive.
You do make an interesting point about loss of steering control due to
wheel contact, im not sure how they worked around that.
http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2005/12/video_smart_car.html
#246
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
Coyoteboy wrote:
> The smarts pass all safety checks in the european ncap tests with
> flying colours, which includes passenger space intrusion, shock loading
> etc regulations, better than a lot of larger cars. The reason they cost
> more is because getting this kind of protection in a smaller lighter
> vehicle takes a lot of hard work and design time, and testing.
>
> Personally I wouldnt drive one, they're ugly, but for a city/suburbs
> car they are ideal and perfectly safe, if not safer than the vast
> majority of yank tanks.
>
> J
When i say flying colours i mean it didnt fail miserably, it was rated
as 3-4* i think. Stil higher than a lot of modern cars. NCAP tests are
up to 40mph IIRC.
Heres a clip from the fifth gear crash test at 70mph. Naturally at that
speed the deceleration is rather drastic and probably fatal but that is
the same in all small cars, and cars are not designed and tested to
70mph anyway - the vast majority of accidents occur at lower speed and
dont involve a solid concrete wall like this vid.
as you can see from the picture the shell has almost zero intrusion
(havign watched the show its clearer, there was about 3inches shift in
the footwell area to one side but no dangerous 'trapping' or cutting
issues) but little other damage. The accelerations inside were rather
on the high side at that speed so it is assumed the driver would have
died, but ive yet to see a crash test that didnt say that and plenty of
peolpe do survive.
You do make an interesting point about loss of steering control due to
wheel contact, im not sure how they worked around that.
http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2005/12/video_smart_car.html
#251
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
"Coyoteboy" <coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
The US brands of car make a rather pathetic showing on the streets of
Europe. Chevy advertises heavily; Ford less so, but you see many more
Smarts and Toyotas on the road. Yaris is very popular.
#252
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
"Coyoteboy" <coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
The US brands of car make a rather pathetic showing on the streets of
Europe. Chevy advertises heavily; Ford less so, but you see many more
Smarts and Toyotas on the road. Yaris is very popular.
#253
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
"Coyoteboy" <coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
The US brands of car make a rather pathetic showing on the streets of
Europe. Chevy advertises heavily; Ford less so, but you see many more
Smarts and Toyotas on the road. Yaris is very popular.
#254
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
"Coyoteboy" <coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
Your suspicion is wrong, in the EU almost all of the drivers are young
professionals aged 25-35, certainly all the ones i see round the cities
ive visited, they arent THAT expensive here, just a little more than
compact car.
The US brands of car make a rather pathetic showing on the streets of
Europe. Chevy advertises heavily; Ford less so, but you see many more
Smarts and Toyotas on the road. Yaris is very popular.
#255
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: DaimlerChrysler to Bring Teeny Two-Seater to U.S.
Scott in Florida wrote:
> On 5 Jul 2006 04:19:36 -0700, "Coyoteboy" <coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> The 'yank tanks' we took over in WW II?
>
> ;-)
I think they could be lol. Mind you, theres a beautiful 76 'vette down
the road. Always wanted one since i was a kid. Cant corner, drinks
fuel, totally excessive but I still LOVE them lol. I shoulda been a
yank