I'm surprised it can get up to 70mph

Awesome video--I think small, efficient cars like this are great--I'm just not sure how they translate to the states (even a city car needs to be highway capable--and I don't think I would want to be in a Smart Car on a 8 hour roadtrip to visit the folks).

I don't know about that "not a death trap". Looks like my legs would be turned into jelly by that crash.

@nchatch: I agree. Probably a great car in the city, but I think I would piss my pants if I had to drive it on I-95 here on the East Coast where driving at 70 mhp will get you ran over.

Just because you won't get crushed doesn't mean you won't die. I appreciate how well these things are built, but going from 70mph to a dead stop with no crumple zones (which allow more gradual deceleration in larger vehicles) would be like jumping from the fifth floor of a building onto the pavement.

(not sure about that "fifth floor" part but you get the idea.

This video is about 2 years old if I'm not mistaken, apparently it took a while to reach gizmodo.us ;)

@NCHATCH you'd be surprised at how much space there is in a Smart as nearly the entire length and width of the vehicle are dedicated to seats. You'll probably be more comfortable in a Smart than a Toyota Corolla

The topspeed is limited to 135kmh or 84mph so rather comfy for US highways (and not really fitting European/German ones)

Personally, think that looks like a instant death impact. The persons head would be bouncing off the windshield or most likely an instant broken neck.

How well the car fares when the hoon slams it into a barrier is less of a concern than how well it fares against the soccer mom not paying attention slams into one in her Hummer.

Is this car really that efficient? I just did some searching and its not even getting 40mpg.

any vids of a Prius or a Mutstang or other doing that?

Smartcars are basically high-impact roll cages with an engine inside. These have been available in Europe for years, and only now have they passed EPA/FTC standards. And I think they top out at around 80mph.

The diesel Smartcars are much more efficient; closer to 65 mpg.

better than I thought I must admit.

Well I sure would rather get hit by a Smart car than by one of those huge SUVs.

I think there should be a big campaign to buy these for reckless teenagers!

@encyclia:

70MPH straight into a concrete barrier will kill you in pretty much any car.

i saw a similar video...the built like a truck thing is a farce, because the safety features in these little cars result in les fatalities than pick up trucks.

Did they put a 150lb+ weight in there to simulate a human? If not, I wonder how that would change things, if at all. They should have called up the MythBusters and borrowed Buster (actually, I think Buster's dead).

I don't think this will sell very well in the States. If you do any significant amount of rural driving at all then you'll need to have a "normal" car as well, which kind of eliminates the whole economical angle. And people who live in cities... well, the ones that don't have to do any rural driving probably don't want or need a car in the first place. I just can't see a very large market for this over here, safe or not.

It looks like the air-bag would keep the driver's head from severe injury however, the driver would be killed by the steering wheel that crushed his chest/stomach.

My wife and I don't have a car. We are thinking of getting one of these. Hell of a lot safer than a motorcycle. Yeah, gas mileage could be higher, but if you don't drive a lot and don't have a lot of space, these things are awesome.

Old Video, It was shown in comparison to a normal compact car, they crashed both the same way to see witch handled better. the smart car came out ahead, you'd actually survive in it. but really i saw this like a year ago, slow gadget day?

Lets see...

Severed Arteries from severed legs, check.
Fatal damage to internal organs in abdomen, check.
Face smashed in, no check. Well, at least you will get an open casket funeral.

@ANoel: A Prius would get crushed back into it's original tofu state.

Wow.

Simply wow.

First, at the vehicle's unbelievably impressive condition after a 70mph slam into a concrete barrier, and secondly, possibly even more intense, another wow at how quickly Giz readers were able to pile scorn upon the thing anyway.

I need to stop clicking through to the comments section. I really do.

Come on guys, it can hit a decent speed:

Please check the Smart-USA FAQ:
[www.smartusa.com]

It states that a Smart car can go 90 MPH -- and it has a governor on it to keep it going faster (which means, it actually COULD go faster than that)

Around here, the highest bordering state speed is 70-75 that I'm aware of. (Oregon, where I'm posting from, is even less than that) The Smart car could certainly drive comfortable around here!

Can I get the emblem off the decklid ????
Great conversation piece.....

if you saw the "entire" video

[youtube.com]

you would see that a conventional sub-compact comes away with about as much damage. I'd like to see them compare north american subcompacts, or even larger cars for this test - I bet they would all stand up about the same.

yeah, but the problem with these crash test ratings is that they overlook a very important factor which is that in the real world you're not always hitting a wall with just your physics. Often times you have to worry about the person in the H2 or Excursion that barrels into you. Even if both cars got a 5 star crash test rating, there is a helluva lot more force packed in the brush guard of that H2.

I live in the LA area and frankly it's not the walls I'm worried about...it's those tiny women who see fit to drive Suburbans and Escalades. What happens when one of those slams into ya?

@jeffj-nj: Well, if there's one thing nerds know, it's how to talk shit about things they don't really understand. From the limited amount I understand, the "crumple zone" in a car is just there to preserve the integrity of the car's cabin. That's the important part. That this car's door still opens after impart is amazing, and means the frame is perfectly intact. And if you've ever taken a piece of shit car to the body shop and had them tell you that the "frame is bent" you know that this happens all the time.

This is a great vehicle that has had terrific success here in Canada. It IS highway safe, and it is NOT any more dangerous than any other compact car. In fact, it is far safer than a lot of larger cars.

I want one, and when I get one I will be happy. I will fill it with kittens, and drive my perfectly safe kitten-mobile to naysayer's houses and throw kittens at them while screaming "get OFF the INTERNET".

@karmaghost: I think you're wrong on the market for these. Here on the East Coast I think there are plenty of city dwellers who really only use their cars in the city. They rent a larger one for road trips. They're not out to sell a million, so I'll bet they hit their sales targets. Convenient for parking, good in traffic, decent mileage? I'll certainly consider one for my second car.

And to Charlie: Ze Chermans only build a deathtrap if they want to.

@Pope John Peeps II: I'll fill mine with bunnies and we'll kill them with cuddliness.

Few head-on accidents (such as this) would be survivable, in any vehicle, even a peterbilt truck.
The Smart car gets a Euro NCAP 5-star rating, which is the highest possible rating available. It is safe, and a much better car than 90% of the home-grown things you get in the States.
(I don't even like Smarts, but as a European I feel I must defend them!)

@Pope John Peeps II:
You bastard! You killed Kitty!

Welcome to 2005 Gizmodo.
For all the people who don't think that the smart will go over well in the U.S.A. The company that sells the modified ones for twice the actual cost seems to have no problem selling them. College students, city dwellers, trendy movie stars... plenty of market for the smart. But, we probably won't get the diesel, which is a real shame.

bobman1235: i'm fairly certain that no matter what car you drive..... a 70mph impact to a concrete wall would pretty much make crumple zones nonexistent in half a second anyway.

I'm actually thinking about getting a Smart ForTwo when they're released here in the states. quite nice gas mileage, top speed of 90mph... quite the nice little vehicle, and it can stand up pretty well to head-on collisions with cars. You should watch some of the videos they have on the Smart Fortwo's website where they show a head to head collision (controlled environment of course) with a Smart ForTwo and i believe it was either a sedan or small car... possibly sub-compact. you can basically see the front of the ForTwo making it's own impression in the front of the other car before the ForTwo starts to show some serious damage.

Yeah if you actually searched for some information regarding the smart cars' safety features, you'd realize that it is a very safe car and that it is much safer than the crappy cars offered in North America. I've heard the rants about how "I wouldn't want to be hit by a semi in that" crap too many times...honestly, who thinks they would survive a head on collision with a semi in any car? The smart car was designed to utilize the opposing vehicles crumple zone to absorb the energy while maintaining the integrity of the Tridion safety cell to protect its occupants. A little research goes a long way.

The German-engineered Smartcar, soon to hit U.S. lots, looks like a toy but takes hits like an old Volvo. Filmed here with its rollcage surviving a 70 MPH crash into a concrete wall, it presents two grand mysteries.

I live in Knoxville, TN and have seen a one or two on the road here already. There was an article in the paper on these earlier this year. It's an amazing sight seeing one of these parked next to a hummer.

I drove one of these in Santorini, a small island in Greece. It was great to maneuver around small roads with lots of people on them. It would be great to have them in NYC. The only bad thing was it was part manual and didn't even go 2 MPH after letting go of the brake. Didn't crash though!

who needs legs...

Very very impressive, but yes I too would like to see the weight of an adult or two with a test dummy to show exactly how many pins you'll be needing in those legs.

Props, seriously. My interest is mainly technical.

@shaka999:
It goes 90 mph top speed (electronically limited) and gets 40 mpg, according to their website. So yes, it is only slightly more efficient than some other compacts. I believe Europe has a hybrid model that should get more mpg than a prius/civic hybrid. But why that isn't being introduced in America baffles me.

I think death is a very strong possibility in any crash into concrete at 70 mph, regardsless of car. I'd be more interested in teh results of being rear-ended, and/or T-Boned by an escalade on the turnpike, as that is more likely to happen to me than going straight into a concrete barrier.

Any knowledgeable car guy understands, it's the second collision that kills, i.e. occupant hitting the vehicle's interior surfaces. The driver of this car would be dead. Period.

Also, I like the way the wheel was turned into a grill.

Wow, the commentards are out in force today. No expertise? No problem!

You should forward this thread to Mercedes- I'm sure their engineers could learn a thing or two from all these thoughtful, well-reasoned suggestions.

One of the reasons that cars that test so high (obtain more stars) in crash testing is that they have much more room to crumple. This crumpling time reduces the speed at which you decelerate, possibly saving your life. This little guy seems to have very little ability to crumple. The excess force will kill you. Still a nice city car though. Is it legally allowed to drive on the sidewalk?

"built like a truck"? Talk about an inappropriate turn of phrase. Check out how a truck compares to a Mini for a mere 40mph impact.

[bridger.us]

any other older-than-dirt videos out there?

@superbad: If the internet had any say in the matter, half of all citizens would be driving a bio-solar-hydrogebn powered dream mobile that weighs as much as three butterflies and is controlled by robots, while the other half would be driving 3 meter-diameter solid steel spheres that are controlled by rage and Jesus.

I had no idea these weren't in the States yet! There are three on my block alone here in sunny Alberta, Canada.

Sunny and cold, mind. But still sunny.

@andy mikula: Hoorays alberta. We just got about a foot and a half of snow here in Ontario.

1. The barrier is not straight, the car *shunts* off to the right. Thusly, it is not a "head on" collision with t