Front collisions against a concrete barrier aren't a very good test, even at 70mph.

What we need to see are:

- An OFFSET crash test, like the ones conducted by EuroNCAP and the IIHS
- A SIDE crash test, like the ones conducted by the IIHS

If you look up the EuroNCAP, you'll see that the Smart performs well for a vehicle of its size, but that it performs considerably worse than larger vehicles like the Toyota Prius.

Moreover, SIZE IS A FACTOR. All things equal, a larger vehicle performs better in a two-vehicle collision than a smaller vehicle. This is just physics, but it's also supported by actual fatality statistics.

I'm not advocating that we all drive monster SUVs. In fact, much of the problem is that people are driving monster SUVs. But we drive on the roads we have, not on the roads we would like to have.

If you're hit by a 6000lb SUV, there's a HUGE difference between being in a 3800lb Prius and an 1800lb Smart.

bsoft

BUT, since the car does not have any crumple zones, which are meant to absorb forces, and decelerate the car, it will instead be applied to the human body.

without the deceleration from the crumple, and the force absorption, we will be dead. But at least the coroner can open the door to get us into the bag.

vandinej

ANoel

dj_cobb

How many head on accidents have you been in? one would be more than enough to change the way you drive, period.

This is not a new automaker, this is Mercedes, they're not in the business of selling a shitbox.

Everyone who keeps on yapping about being hit by something bigger, heavier, must have the mentality that you must drive the largest vehicle you can afford to avoid death on the roads. Are you financing your next purchase of a long haul semi?

Formula One machines keep their occupants from dying very well don't they? Or is your opinion based on the exterior styling of the smartcar, "it must be shit because it's a econobox" mentality?

Europe has had this vehicle for about 9 years, Canada has had this vehicle for almost 4 years, it's about time you got to see this in person and be able to go for a test drive.

How about we just stick to the sticker value instead?

"starting at $11,590" plus whatever the fine print is in your state and dealer invoice scheme.

What would you be comparing this to in that price range?

Go here to see what the most basic version comes with:
[www.smartusa.com]

You can fit two of these in a parking stall, you can even park with your rear tires facing the curb and fit in one lane.

This vehicle is a small step towards reducing the amount of emissions, at the VERY least, but you can find your own reasoning.

Don't get tunnel vision on small cars, if they're not for you, *shrug*, move along. Nobody held a gun to your head and told you to buy it, did they?

I'll be getting one next year, if Roger Penske (of testosterone fueled NASCAR fame) is in on the action why aren't you? :]

When you see a dealership, drop in for a ride or test drive, then come back and say what you feel.

skulldriveshaft

Arsenal6

but will it blend?

D_Zarster

ggvrsn

zbg8000

dysthymia

darex

Parenthetically, it reminded me of the old saw about the last thing that goes through a fly's mind as it hits your windshield.

wylacot

Yes, small cars have a higher "likelyness of traffic death in case of an accident."

But it is statistically outweighed by the lower "likelyness of accident."

92BuickLeSabre

SomeoneUKno

EMoShunz

p1p3r

NachoBoy

I'd like to see the same test done with the Chinese Smart knock-off. :)

NachoBoy

itouchnipples

You're just wrong... dont' be ashamed to admit it. Look back at the old steel cars of the seventies. The cars themselves, including the cabin, withstood quite a bit of impact, but the occupants still died in high speed crashes because their bodies had to take on the full impact of the crash. The front ends of todays cars are made to "accordian" on impact so that some force of the impact is absorbed and dissipated before it ever reaches the cabin.

[en.wikipedia.org]

robinandtami

chikinpop

That's because the crumple zone is so short... if it even has a "crumple zone".

Since you hit the wall at 70, and the car can only start it's "serious deceleration" (deceleration at multiple Gs) after the front bumper hits the wall. Because you're so close to the front end, you have only 3 feet of distance to dissipate your 70 mph to zero, and that's just not enough. Gotta be at least 100 Gs. In a Lincoln town car, you might have 7 feet or more while the front end crumples... which improves your chances. Though 70 mph to a dead stop is probably lethal in any car, a 50 mph brickwall crash in a Lincoln might be survivable while a 50 mph brickwall crash in a smart car still seems unsurvivable.
-
Even if you brake before impact, the best you could realistically hope to decelerate before you hit is < 1 G... until your front end hits the wall. "Serious deceleration" only starts after you make impact.
-
Of course, in real life, brakes, maneuverability, driver vision(all of which might very well be excellent in a smart car) are probably more important for safety overall, than crash test results. Best way to survive an accident is to not get in one.

dcartist

ab3

charles_barrett

Pope John Peeps II

senninha13

mechanisma22

sirtimbly

If people actually concentrated on their driving and paid attention to others and what was going on around them they may not actually have a crash in the first place.

Look at motor sport like F1. They are driving VERY fast cars which are basically bits of carbon fibre with an engine bolted on and they don't crash that often (when they do it's normally down to stupidity). And they are being competitive - road driving IS NOT A RACE!

/rant

sparx104

Actually no, the crumple zone is not about preserving the cabin. It is about absorbing and dissipating some of the impact force.

robinandtami

full size suvs and full size minivans are the safest.

drewheyman

Pope John Peeps II

The ForTwo was designed for optimum crash protection only in impacts with larger vehicles. The smart's lack of sufficient crumple zones is supposed to be offset by the crumple zones on the larger car it hits, so that there is still a cushioning effect.

In an impact with a concrete wall though, well its just one very rigid object hitting another very rigid object- not a good combination.

ranwhenparked

EMoShunz

Supergeek817

It's surprising how much damage is done to the larger car. The engineers like to ask, "what's more rigid an 8 foot or 15 foot ladder?"

The 2008 smart fortwo (version 451) is slightly larger, rates 4 of 5 starts for safety and is very popular. US $99 reservations have reached 40,000 so if you order one now it should arrive in 2009.

saronian

[www.gladwell.com]

Sihanouk-s-Poodle

Vagabum

Also, honestly, the acceleration in that crash would kill you in pretty much any car in existence.

Knight

lafond66

Hummer: More likely to get in an accident and more likely to survive that accident.
Smart Car: Less likely to get in an accident and less likely to survive that accident.

Overall, smaller, lighter cars are still safer because the way the numbers play out they get in so many fewer accidents that it makes up for their inability to keep from being destroyed if they do happen to be hit by your SUV.

92BuickLeSabre

you see race cars with no crumple zones smash into concrete walls all the time, the drivers climb out and wave to the fans - the "tridon safety cell" idea is along the same lines.

crumple zones is marketing talk. although "tridon" probably is too. hee. hee.

rawlus

Really frickin' scary. No wonder they redesigned that generation of truck so quickly.

[youtube.com]

gotsmart

To be honest, there aren't many vehicles i would WANT to be inside during a collision. But i would rather drive something small and nimble that has a better chance of avoiding the collision altogether than a gigantic overweight machine with no cornering or stopping ability.

It's not a car for everyone, but for those who choose to drive them, they're great little cars. The diesel versions sold in Canada for the last three years are getting 55+ MPG and some have done over 100,000 miles in a year. And they never have a hard time finding a parking spot!

But thanks for posting this video... i think there's a great word for it... OLD!

gotsmart

reenignE_esreveR

senorbelly

dj_cobb

Pixelantes Anonymous

(Seriously, though: you add the speeds, not multiply them, at least as far as I know)

Beryllium

I'll need 2 for my family of 4 for any serious outings, maybe a trailer for anything considered cargo. Not sure what I may be saving in fuel...and at the expense of any kind of comfort. Definately a niche player, you'll see a few next to the segways at select locations. Perhaps we should just move on to the Personal Car concept.

JShort

distinctlyaverage

EMoShunz

I guess the 30,000 pre-orders doesn't mean anything?

kiyoshiro

Well, the SmartCar does manage to have a small crumple zone - more importantly, the steel cabin cage is designed to activate crumple zones in the oncoming vehicle. According to EuroNCAP, the 2007 SmartCar has safety star ratings for adult passengers identical to that of the Mazda 3 and the Dodge Caliber.

Beryllium

Either way, though, I would refrain if you can from running into things at 70mph. And yes, this video is really, really old.

odoketa

Pope John Peeps II

dhaberer

The real problem is a head on crash with another car. Even if you lower the speed to each car going 30 mph and hitting head on, you have to multiply the cars' speeds by each other to get: Slamming into a brick wall at 900 mph (no, that's not a typo). Your chances of survival are much greater in a larger "body on frame" older type vehicle, because there's much more to crumple before the engine ends up in your lap, etc.

My brother was hit in a '88 crown vic, as he was crossing a four lane highway. The lady who he pulled out in front of was doing at least 55 in her 90s cavalier, and was okay except for a broken arm. My brother's car, the passenger side was crushed in and it bent the frame a little, he went airborne over a drainage ditch, and walked away with merely a cracked thumbnail and bruises. Somehow, I don't think that "smart" is going to hold up to a 55 mph side impact at all.

You want to pay $20,000+ for half a car that amounts to just a ping-pong ball on wheels, be my guest. You can buy a damn nice used volvo for that money if safety is your concern.

Oh, and gas mileage? I've gotten 28.5 mpg out of that same crown vic (before it was totalled, eerie to see 420 miles on a trip odometer on the same tank of gas that isn't a diesel), and 38 mpg out of my 94 ford taurus station wagon.

SexCpotatoes

Pope John Peeps II

Sunny and cold, mind. But still sunny.

andy

Pope John Peeps II

FThorn

[bridger.us]

mathew

Ryanraven

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.

superbad

Canoehead

Isetta

Canoehead

berribrand

Props, seriously. My interest is mainly technical.

strider_mt2k

nubloom

Rain-man

tbotello

Illusive

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.

ElementalDragon

LoganSix

ANoel

cmdrfire

Drew Draws nothing of merit

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

Drew Draws nothing of merit

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".

Pope John Peeps II

deitiphobia

vsboxerboy

[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.

Fierock

megacab57

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!

rimovm

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.

jeffj-nj

Joseph

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.

Amuro

fredfox

kyledwards

Noobs-R-Us

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.

karmaghost

EMoShunz

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

fussball

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

watersketch

txturbo930

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

monkeyrotica

ANoel

shaka999

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.

DashTheHand

@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)

gizmodist

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

bobman1235

baltwade

encyclia

nchatch

UofITom