Hot news from Daimler Media Center

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by Carnut

EPA rating 31 mpg City, 43 mpg highway.

That info may be a little erroneous and premature; the EPA hasn't listed the 2008 smart yet. Watch this site: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

[Carnut]

With all due respect, the EPA list on the link is missing other 2008 cars that might not have been posted as yet. i.e Yaris, Mercedes new C Class, etc.

[Old smart]

A couple of things that some people miss:
(1) The EPA does not do the testing. The manufacturers are responsible to do to testing to the EPA standard and report the findings to the EPA.
(2) There is some time allowed after a vehicle's physical introduction (30 days, 60 days?) to submit the reports to the EPA.

So, it isn't unreasonable to see a lot of 2008 vehicles still missing in early October 2007.

BTW, the crash testing to the prevailing standard is also the responsibility of the manufacturer; afterwards the manufacturer must submit a certificate of compliance to the NHTSA. The separate IIHS crash testing is not all-inclusive and has no bearing on the ability to market the vehicle. Many vehicles are never tested.

[jonnysan]

[QUOTE=Carnut;4163]Hmmmmmmmm. If you watch the L.A. Times video there is STARTLING news at the end when it posts the specs.

EPA rating 31 mpg City, 43 mpg highway.

Oh Oh!

:QUOTE]

For that size car and engine, that has to be a reporting error. I would not pay any attention to that at all.

[SmartShanna]

I sounds like it should have been the speculated 41 mpg city not 31 mpg city.

[lhoboy]

Originally Posted by SmartShanna

I sounds like it should have been the speculated 41 mpg city not 31 mpg city.

It is very unlikely that city and hwy mileage are within two points. There's usually at least a 5-6 point spread and 12 is not unlikely given how small the engine is and how hard it has to work to accelerate. If the 31 and 43 are true, I'm afraid my wife will opt for a normally aspirated Cooper instead that will average almost the same (32/40) and perform substantially better (0-60, 8.5sec)

Let's hope there is a misprint somewhere.

[MicroNut]

I don't know when the LA Times video was made, but the information it contains is quite old. Dan Neil's original review of the smart appeared in the LA Times in May, and was reworked for the SF Chronicle in June.

That piece ended with the exact same list of "facts" as the video, including the unconfirmed pricing, 0-60 time and slightly misquoted horsepower. It also cited identical gas mileage numbers, but without labeling them as "EPA estimates".

I suspect the last frame of the video was simply copied from this article, and the EPA label was added by someone who misunderstood the actual origin of the information.

[SmartAmerica]

I believe as this email perhaps supports that Daimler has the power and can supply data and attach certification that meets our EPA with less barricades than some start up company or a non compliant car that is imported by a Register Importer?

I sense the Smart could have passed both DOT and EPA standards long ago if the powers to be sought for certification.

[FONT=Courier New]I

[MicroNut]

SmartAmerica, I concur with what you are saying.

I am sure that Daimler is already in a position to certify the smart from both an emissions and a safety perspective. The necessary FMVSS crash testing would have been conducted at an early stage in the 451's design cycle, when any modifications would be relatively easy to make.

I am also sure that Daimler knows exactly how the smart will perform in the NCAP ("star rating") tests, having also carried out these in the privacy of their own facilities. When they say they "expect a four-star rating", you can be sure they have some data to base this on.

Likewise with the mileage estimates: I believe that the 40mpg figure is being touted by smart USA because Daimler has already conducted the standard 2008 EPA tests and 40mpg is the resulting "combined" number.

Incidently, if you check the EPA website, there are only two vehicles currently on sale in the US that achieve a combined mileage of better than 35mpg under the new 2008 standards. They are the Honda Civic Hybrid (42) and Toyota Prius (46).

[valbeck]

Carnut-
Please post the link for that most disturbing news.