Totaled at 30mph

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Permalink Reply by Tony on May 7, 2009 at 1:33am

hmm, dumped her husband cuz of his faults. Dumped her Smart for its faults. Waiting for an electric Smart. Does the husband also come with either a power cord or a battery.

Sorry that you felt like you had to "defend" your smart purchase. I love my car, quirks and all. If someone else disagrees, I simply tell them, its thier opinion, wish them a good day and off I go. The world is full of critics.

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on May 8, 2009 at 12:33am

Because of his NASTY faults.

Yes, waiting for my electric model.

I never had to defend it to non-owners.

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Permalink Reply by Richard D. Masters on May 7, 2009 at 11:42pm

Bonnie,
The Smart is a niche vehicle. It is attractive to people like me, who like to play with with really cool stuff that is regarded as odd by convention. But while there is no question that the Smart is somewhat odd, it is also quite functional for the things I bought mine for - high mileage and fun.

The Smart is not alone in being vulnerable to frame tweak in accordian collisions, especially in a world full of giant cars. IMHO, it is not the frame tweak but the fact that you were not injured due to the Smart's protective design that is worth mentioning. The high seat backs that you complain about are part of that protective design. I would suggest a civil suit against the driver of the car that rear-ended you because drivers of cars that cause rear end collisions have no defense in California. (Also, anyone hitting a Smart car needs to be instilled with fear of retubution!)

I would like to address your complaints point-by-point:
1. No cruise control.

These are available after-market. Aftermarket usually costs less than dealer items. As a high mileage nut, I wouldn't want a cruise control because they waste gasoline. Smart targeted the car for urban areas so a cruise control is not high on their list.

2. Uncomfortable ride.

I run 45 psi in my tires and find the ride acceptable. But then, I'm a motorcycle nut and I often think of my Smart as a couple of 500cc motorcycles glued together and I never expected such a lightweight car to ride like a Cadillac. In fact, I experience a sense of joy from the road feel, but to each his or her own.

3. Fair to middlan' gas mileage when premium is taken into account.

California is forced to mix ethanol into gasoline. All mileage performance suffers across the range of all vehicles. The Smart is designed to achieve better mileage with higher octane fuel. My experience verifies this. I obtained 65 mph between Laramie and Salt Lake City, but I have only averaged low 50s in California with moderate hypermiling techniques..

4. Seat backs too high to see behind and side mirrors too small.

The seats in the Smart are the same height as in other cars. They are designed to protect you in rear end collisions. You are complaining about this after your rear end collision??? While I agree that the small size of the Smart makes the seats seem larger, they are not actually larger. They are the correct size. I have found that by twisting and looking behind me, I can adequately and safely back up. The center mirror needs to be carefully adjusted to achieve the maximum view to the rear. As for the size of the side mirrors, I find mine adequate. I have also found that most people adjust their mirrors to where fully half the side of the car is in the mirror. That is dumb.

5. Hurky jurky transmission.

This is a special transmission designed for high pileage performance. Most people do not understand how to use this transmission. I have written extensively on this. Search my early posts for links or see http://www.451s.com/profiles/blogs/1912846:BlogPost:15700

6. Too expensive for what you get.

The Smart has a spectacular resale value. You can buy a Smart, drive it for a year or two, and sell it for close to what you bought it for. While I understand that your Smart was totaled and you got reamed by your insurer, that is not the case for most of us. Your point to buy replacement insurance is well taken. It would also apply to all motorcycles.

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on May 8, 2009 at 12:29am

Richard:

In response to your post I will add this rebuttal:

1. Cruise Control should come with a car at this price. Others do.

2. Mine would shake the hotdogs right out of you at 30psi. I can only imagine what yours would be like at 45psi..

3. I assume you meant 65mpg when you wrote 65mph. If so you have been sleeping in the moonlight.

4. I was talking about the wide contiguous head rests that block the rear view. My SLK, made by the same manufacture, has petite headrests that don't get in the way. The rear view mirrors are narrow where they should be wide.

5. Harley Davidson has the same trans.

6. You are right.

I can now understand MB reluctance to bring it to the US market, but I will bet you that they fix these thing in future models when the competition arrives...

Again, I bought mine for the fun and curb appeal that I reveled in for a year before the crash, but when I had a second chance I sobered up.

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Permalink Reply by slojason on May 8, 2009 at 12:44am

Rick, it was your article on the nature of the transmission that made me understand what was going on. I've told other smarties and the universal response has been "ohhhhhh, well that makes sense" I hear they've re-programmed the tranny which should help. Once I understood that it was a manual transmission a lightbulb went on...Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Marc L on May 8, 2009 at 6:37pm

Boy, I really got a kick out of reading your discussion about the pros and cons of the smart and the electric husband reply.

Bonnie, I totally respect your comments. The cute factor won me over years ago even before the smart ever came to Canada. The 450 model came to Canada first but i was a bit hesitant at first because i travel long distances to get to work. As long as my 08 model 451 performs ok for me I will always love the smart. I must admit that my 451 has had it's share of first year problems. The gear locking, and also a transfer between gears issue that seams to have been resolved with the 'reflash'. I'm glad it was under warranty but I seriously think that a car with fewer than 45,000 km at the time should not have run into those types of problems. No other vehicle I have owned has ever had those kind of early problems. Now i noticed my airbag 'warning light' is coming on and I will wait until i get to my next oil change to get it looked at. It seems that i can't get through to the next oil change (15,000 KM) without having issues to deal with. The fact is that I really love the smat and I don't regret my decision but it's still a machine and i hope the manufacturer is listening in on these discussions. Many of these problems should be resolved before a new model is put out there otherwise the word is bound to get out if there are too many lemons floating arround.

Just adding my 2 cents (Canadian 2 cents worth).

Marc from Casselman (Ottawa) Ontario.

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Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on May 10, 2009 at 7:29pm

Boy, I just have to throw my two-pennies into the ring. I get just so frustrated with the naysayers who are disappointed with their purchase. We have had our Brabus Cabrio for nearly a month now. We have nearly 2500 miles on the odometer. Look at the car for what the car was DESIGNED for. It is not a HYBRID. It is not a family car. It is a city (URBAN) vehicle. You don't need cruise control to get you from light to light in downtown big city USA. Use the car for what it was intended. Don't make it into something it cannot live up to. If that is the problem, go buy a Cooper Mini if you want cute, but be prepared for some sticker shock. Bonnie, you must have a lead foot. We have gone through about 8 fill-ups and have got nothing less than 39mpg. With each tank full the mileage just gets better and better. Just today we went from 40.7mpg to 44.34mpg combined city/highway. That is 7.034 gallons to 311.9 miles. My gas gauge always goes to 8 bars at top up. We have been trouble free so far. Take your time and treat the little car with respect and you will be rewarded. NUF Said!!

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on May 12, 2009 at 9:53pm

CogWheel:

At 1 month, you're not out of the honnymoon phase yet...
Your little Brabus sounds awsome and I'm sure it's Fun, fun, fun...
But, If I recall right, the Brabus is suposed to get worse milage than
the Passion and Pure... You sure you read the numbers correctly??

If you put premium in your tank your real milage by
GreenLand standards is 34.6mpg to 37.7mpg... All
GreenLand cars run on regular.

My Passion used to get 44mpg and I would strut around the
gas station claiming bragging rights... But I knew all the time
that it wasn't real when premium prices are taken into account...
34 to 37mpg isn't bad it's just that everyone that owns a smart
thinks he/she is geting hybrid milage... Ain't so...

Bonnie

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Permalink Reply by smarttask on May 13, 2009 at 8:40am

We want photos......................................

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Permalink Reply by Tony on August 9, 2009 at 12:43am

Bonnie, it sounds like what you have is a bad case of I miss my SLK $45,000.00 car, that got 17 city 25hwy. But for goodness sake, its like comparing plums and pomegranates. Sorry you thought the smart was supposed to be some sort of a comparable replacement or that it was supposed to stand to similar duties and style as your SLK. I happen to have traded off a 6500 lbs 400 HP Dodge truck for my smart. I willingly gave up stuffing $95.00 worth of gas into that beast. Don't get me wrong , it was beautiful. Metalic black paint, a very comfortable interior, and it could haul 9000 pounds behind it all day long. LIfe is full of choices and each choice made has consequences. Some good and some not. I hope you find comfort and peace in your next car but for goodness sake get off the bashing trip about the Smart. Its just too bad you are not grateful enough for what it did do in protecting you in your accident to keep you from whipping it for the few features you chose to overlook when you bought it.

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Permalink Reply by Brabus007 on August 9, 2009 at 2:05pm

Anybody that buy's a Smart is considered to have a "Experimenter Personality"...<:-))

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Permalink Reply by Bob on August 21, 2009 at 12:27pm

$18,000.00 !!!!!!!!!! Holy Crap.... Miami folks are getting screwed. I paid the MSRP of $13,999.00 plus dealer prep etc. in Birmingham, AL. for the Passion Coupe. Man - I'm glad I don't live in Miami for one more reason.

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