Apparent $15,000 USD for Two Seater Smart Car

I noted some in France a couple of years ago., and had wondered why they weren't sold in the U.S.

Well, apparently they soon shall be.

A city driver will sorta squeeze it into an impossible parking place in Paris--perpendicular, I've seen such, with some of it on the sidewalk.

Don't ask me what happens when the smart car is banged into--or perhaps is literally carried away by a couple of drunken weight lifters or inebriated frat rats.

Hey, I'm trying to have fun, so please ignore the more stupid parts of this referral to the NY TIMES article about the Damlier-Chrysler SMART CAR, which I hope is a huge success.

It does seem somewhat overly-priced; but that price would tend to go downward to meet competition, which I hope GM, Ford, Hyundai, etal will join.

The question here:

Can you see yourself in a Smart Car?

Me? Not at $15,000, but maybe at $10,000 or hopefully less.

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Reply to
Robert Cohen
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Chrysler had this piece of shit beat long before Damilar bought them out. The original Neon was supposed to be a 60 mpg 2 cycle direct injection setup (no 2 cycle oil required...), with *awesome* aerodynamics. Unluckily after the EPA got done, it had some mitsu-reject crap under the hood that dumped more fuel and heat out the tailpipe than what actually pushed the pistons down, and still managed to get 40 mpg-ish on the highway.

The 2 cycle engine had more power and produced less emissions than the mitsu junk it ended up having. The EPA insisted the 2 cycle engine have oxygen sensors, which ended up killing the deal as it wasn't worth paying the extra money for the advanced injection system on the engine

*and* the crap to make the EPA happy. Fuck a bunch of Dick Nixon and his EPA.

Personally, I'd buy a $10k accent... $6k buys a LOT of gasoline, and the Accent can actually run highway speeds safely with you, 3 of your closest friends, and a week's worth of groceries in the back...

JS

Reply to
JS

Not me, perod. Not enough room for two people and groceries let alone "stuff".

Reply to
nothermark

why would anyone pay that kind of money for a rollerskate...Gullible people, I guess! Hyundai makes some itsy-bitsy cars around the world but we don't need them here either!! Accent Rules!!

Reply to
Deck

This is an item in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a $10,000 base-price electric car from Canada will be marketed in the U.S.

Well, if it were $5,000, then I might...uh, I live now in the country, approx 15-25 minutes from a Walmart.

Nevertheless, I HOPE IT'S A SUCCESS, while there have been electric cars being tried-out at least since the 1970s.

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Tiny electric car to arrive in selected U.S. markets Richard Truett - Autoweek Saturday, July 1, 2006

A Canadian company plans to start selling a tiny $10,000 electric car in the United States by the end of the month.

The Zenn --- short for zero emissions, no noise --- is a French-built two-seat hatchback that can go about 35 miles on a single charge of its lead-acid batteries and is limited to a top speed of 25 mph.

Ian Clifford, 43, CEO of Feel Good Cars Inc. of Toronto, says he has signed 20 U.S. dealers in the Southeast and Southwest --- mostly Florida, Arizona and California. He says he expects to expand to around

45 dealers by the end of the year.

Clifford thinks he can sell 2,000 of the micro cars in the next 12 months.

With an overall length nearly 2 feet shorter than a BMW Mini Cooper, the Zenn is smaller than small. Most states allow registration of limited-speed electric vehicles for nonhighway use. The vehicle also requires insurance in most states. In Georgia, limited-speed vehicles can be operated on roadways with posted speed limits of 35 mph.

Zenn meets or exceeds U.S. and Canadian safety standards for its low-speed electric vehicles but doesn't have to meet standards for full-sized passenger cars, the company says.

Clifford said he sees the front-wheel-drive Zenn being used mostly by drivers running errands who don't need to go fast or far and who want to be in a carlike vehicle that is weatherproof.

Unlike other small neighborhood electric vehicles, such as Chrysler's GEM, the Zenn is a fully enclosed car with an aluminum frame. It has automotive-quality lighting, heating/defroster, switch gear, instrumentation and seat belts.

About 31,000 GEMs have been sold since the vehicle went on sale in

1998, said Chrysler spokesman Russ Kiefer. He said about half are sold through retail to consumers who live in gated communities or who drive short distances. The rest are sold to fleet buyers who use them on college campuses and in industrial settings.

Feel Good Cars buys the Zenn from Microcar, a French company that is part of the Beneteau Group, a large sailboat manufacturer. Clifford says his company buys the Zenn from Microcar minus the drivetrain. At the company's Montreal plant, about 20 assembly line workers install the 5-hp electric motor, controller and lead-acid battery pack. From there, the vehicles are shipped to dealers.

Clifford says electric parts are bought from General Electric Co. and other name-brand companies and have been designed specifically for use in neighborhood electric vehicles.

The Zenn's base price is $9,995, not including delivery charges.

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Reply to
Robert Cohen

It's $10K with a top speed of 25mph. Try pulling out into traffic in it. There's no new technology here, it's like any number of small generic electric vehicles.

For $2K you can buy a gas scooter that will get 80mpg and haul you at

35mph. Or for $1200 you can get one of these:
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Reply to
Raoul

Hmmmm damn !!!! I could get 2 of those and jook them together with a board for a seat and for $4 Grand I could get a four wheel scooter that gets 160 MPG and does 70 MPH hahahahahaha......... Believe it or not when I was a kid I had soemthing that looked quite similar to that thing and had pedals along with a 2 HP gas engine you could pedal it like a bike or hit a switch and the pedals would start the little motor... it didnt go very fast but a quart of gas seemed to last for a month hahaha

Tunez

Reply to
Tunez

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For $10-15k you can buy a 'dead' SMART and a Suzuki GSXR1100, another $5k (or a few weekends, cases of beer, easy access to a junkyard and plenty of wire and gas for the ol' MIG welder) should get the two integrated into a vehicle that runs something like this:

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(a GSXR1100-powered electric SMART)

How would they know your SMART just left Wal*Mart? The burnout donut and cloud of white smoke. Bet it'd still get decent fuel economy assuming it was well tuned and you didn't drive it like a nutcase.

JS

Reply to
JS

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