some cars are even smaller than the Smart

[eurobiler]

See theSmart beside a Heinkel Trojan, a German/Irish/English car from the fifties.

YouTube - Heinkel Trojan Pia Maj-Britt og Sofie...

[Winnetou]

That is a delightful video. Thank you for posting it! And that Heinkel is the same colour as my BMW Isetta (in my avatar at the left).

In the 1950s and 1960s there were many automobiles smaller than the smart. The Fuldamobil was another very beautiful and rounded little car:

Photo Gallery: 1955 Fuldamobil 200 - Photo 1 - WebRidesTV

The Messerschmitt was smaller:

Messerschmitt Cars - Over 10,000 Remarkable Cars and Trucks at RemarkableCars.com

Many cars were lighter than the smart. At 1,800 pounds, the 451 smart is the same weight as a 1960s Saab 96, which was far from being a micro-car. I think of the smart as a “luxury” micro-car, something that was not made in the past, though there were some high-grade versions of the original Mini.

It is too bad that laws now prevent tiny, light, and simple micro-cars from being manufactured and marketed commercially.

[BigWarpGuy]

Most microcars are smaller than the Smart. The smallest production vehicle is the Peel P50.

[donnyonee]

is there anything new or maybe 1-2 yrs old to compare. i havent seen any.

[Neonspinnazz]

Originally Posted by donnyonee

is there anything new or maybe 1-2 yrs old to compare. i havent seen any.

One man in England has built the smallest car in the world a few months ago. It's already in the Guiness Book of World Records.

YouTube - Possibly The World's Smallest Car (2009)

[eurobiler]

Here in Europe, since 1999, everyone tried to procuce economical cars and the VW Lupo and the Audi A2 (33km/L) were the best ones. Still the Smart was the smallest, even though it is not the most economical car. Since last year the focus is more and more on electrical vehicles, but that means high weight. Here in Denmark we pay 180% tax on every new car (that means e pay 3 times for a car), but 0% tax on EVs (electric vehicels) so I am sure EVs will come very soon.

[gstreetcomic]

That is way cute of a car. Reminds me of Steve Erkel

[donnyonee]

have you thought of how the government will make up that 180% tax when they dont get it anymore?
same thing will happen here. high mpg = low tax revenue, hold on for this one! its coming.

[eurobiler]

I think you are right, here they limited the tax free registration of EVs to 2011, in 20012, they will cost registration fee.
The same will happen to petrol - as less petrol the cars use, as higher will the tzx be. At the moment, one liter costs about 2 dollars, and the most of the price is taxes.

In Denmark, every car pays every half year a tax, depending on the consumption, the Smart is the second lowest possible tax, only the VW Lupo and Audi A2 are cheaper.
In addition to that you pay a tax on the car insuranse.
of course you pay the usual VAT (25%) on spare parts, cars, and everything you by to the car, you pay parking fees to the state, you pay 180% registration tax, numberplate tax and so on. A big part of the danish states money comes from car taxes, so it would not be possible to drop it.

[donnyonee]

Originally Posted by eurobiler

I think you are right, here they limited the tax free registration of EVs to 2011, in 20012, they will cost registration fee.
The same will happen to petrol - as less petrol the cars use, as higher will the tzx be. At the moment, one liter costs about 2 dollars, and the most of the price is taxes.

In Denmark, every car pays every half year a tax, depending on the consumption, the Smart is the second lowest possible tax, only the VW Lupo and Audi A2 are cheaper.
In addition to that you pay a tax on the car insuranse.
of course you pay the usual VAT (25%) on spare parts, cars, and everything you by to the car, you pay parking fees to the state, you pay 180% registration tax, numberplate tax and so on. A big part of the danish states money comes from car taxes, so it would not be possible to drop it.

can we say vespa?