Comments on: First “Smart” Car Arrives in New York

By: laura

laura — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:30:43 +0000

I am crazy for smart cars they are so cute! Im going to get one for my quincianera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: alpan

alpan — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:48:14 +0000

Wait till he get’s rear ended at a red light camera like I just did. He’ll wish it were a Hummer. I’ll take a car with some meat on it thank you.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:40:54 +0000

There's a Smart Fortwo MHD model that gets 55 mpg, but I'm not sure which fuel it runs on.

By: Propes

Propes — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:27:57 +0000

The diesels in Europe were (and are) much more efficient (and got real-world 60+ MPG), but they flunk EPA emissions and safety testing. Those that were brought into the US and converted to meet standards cost upwards of $30,000 (the top model with everything is under $20k, and the base starts at $11k).

From my reading of people who already have the US model, real world MPG seems to hover around 38-41 with occasional spikes above and below; but it’s a very small sample size so far.

By: Sphekko

Sphekko — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:16:50 +0000

Not that impressed. I’m pretty sure the Euro version is way more efficient. Why they didn’t allow it here years ago blows my mind. At any rate, doesn’t make much sense to have a car of any kind in New York, i say band ‘em from all of Manhattan!

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:47:31 +0000

Is that actual 38 mpg, or fake on-paper-only 38 mpg? Because actual 38 mpg is better than most cars.

By: Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:04:17 +0000

About $16,000, anon.

By: anon

anon — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:01:38 +0000

What is the difference between tsmart car and the nano that Tata just unveiled in India?

By: not even gay

not even gay — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:48:51 +0000

E@10:17, I may have some insight into your semantic question. I drove a couple thousand miles down south last summer with a male friend in a Scion xA, and let me tell you, a Scion xA is the automotive equivalent of interesting eyeglasses. It set off ‘gaydar’ all over the place, especially Alabama.

By: socialscientist

socialscientist — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:14:29 +0000

Oxymoron. Exactly. Let’s support Komanoff and Kheel and make transit fare-free. The private auto is not only obsolete, it is a threat to all life on earth.

By: E

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:17:29 +0000

The guys at jalopniks say the Smart Car is “not gay.” What the heck is that supposed to mean?

By: Chris Loos

Chris Loos — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:44:43 +0000

Smart Car vs. concrete barrier, courtesy Top Gear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

By: ben

ben — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:30:49 +0000

if the car went for 2,000 bucks like india’s quest. I am not sure better, yet car sharing could take off.

By: vnm

vnm — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 03:47:50 +0000

Upstate Manhattan, “first American owner” seems correct if the person you saw is from British Columbia

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:51:52 +0000

There was a great document on the nation’s economy put out by the federal Office of Technology Assessment 20 years ago. It has a whole analysis of the structure of the economy, from the consumption side back to the production side. One problem — the auto companies were among the technical advisors.

So what was their solution to the problem of energy (remember, this was close enough to the 1970s that they admitted there as such a thing?). People don’t own enough cars. Instead of one or two, people need five or six. Going somewhere alone? Use a Smart Car and save gas. You need a personal truck for when you need to move things, and a large sedan for when the whole family travels together.

Sort of ruined the whole book for me.

By: I think they're cute

I think they're cute — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:17:26 +0000

But if every current car owner traded theirs in for one of these, we’d be able to reclaim 50% of our street space and parking lots!

By: mork

mork — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:41:20 +0000

Dunno — if everyone had one of these, there’d be twice as many parked at curbside and twice as much traffic!

By: upstate manhattan

upstate manhattan — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:40:05 +0000

…first? there’s been one in my washington heights neighborhood for months now… wearing BC plates, of course.

By: I think they're cute

I think they're cute — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:34:17 +0000

I think they mean “smart” in the sense of “stylish/trim”.

By: flp

flp — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:32:54 +0000

“Gone is the need to take responsibility for an acre of SUV on a crowded road”

ha! as though those dummer hummers ever did THAT!