Is it safe?...the definitive answer!

[jetfuel]

...for your reading pleasures...

Gearing Up to Make Safer Small Cars

jetfuel

[Kooky]

Originally Posted by JusNameMe

I prefer my answers, "what do you care, you aren't invited to ride in it" or the more polite answer, "no, no it isn't, it's a rolling death trap, thank you for asking".

That's a good answer

[Bill Marshall]

Originally Posted by uberpanzer

Have you looked at the doors of a Mini vs the doors of a Smart? The Mini doors are over twice as thick as our Smart's. There is a lot more car there in the Mini vs the Smart, but this Mini owner's reaction is strange considering how the Mini was received and viewed when it was first released. But like the Mini, the Smart's construction BEHIND the skin of those doors is very safety-minded and engineered quite well.

The point is that you can't tell a book by its cover - or a car.

He bought his MINI Cooper the first year they were available here. They did poorly on parts of the crash tests - rear, I think.

[Mustangbrake]

source please..

[uberpanzer]

Originally Posted by Bill Marshall

The point is that you can't tell a book by its cover - or a car.

EXACTLY!!! And, especially according to those Side Impact results, big does not always equal safer than small. There is more to crash safety for certain types of impacts than size. And THAT is what a lot of people don't seem to understand. You can be small and well designed and come out safer than big and not-so-well-designed.

[Jordon]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

..... sort of like Obama promise of change... nothing changes but the depth of the lie

this is NOT a Mercedes, and has Zero Mercedes craftsmanship applied..IMO

I like my Smart cars for what they are....BUT!!! superior craftsmanship is seriously lacking...fact

Sorry, I own three of the Lil buggers now, and none the less they are NOT an inherently safe vehicle relative to a 7800 pound F-350 or any similarly large vehicle..... period

Let the " but it ain't safe" folks have their say... and acknowledge that we who own the dinky micro car are required to drive defensively or die... fact....

I am aware that this is sacrilege, but i really get tired of the "smart car" as religion crowd

this site has indeed become exceptionally stale

Bottom line

Drive defensively and with 100% full attention to DRIVING in ANY car, and do Not let some BS study lull you into a false belief that you are safe and secure in this particular micro car

I just wanted to point out that I am glad someone else feels this way. I highlighted my favorite points. Thank You.

I would like to say that these cars are as safe as they can be, it is a good design, but I know its is safer to be in that F-350 next to me.

[BigWarpGuy]

If one is a safe driver, one will usually be safe no matter what one drives. The opposite is also true. It also helps to drive safely too.

[Jordon]

Yeah, but then there is always that jackass talking on their cell phone drinking coffee and being an all around unsafe driver. I always secretly hope they crash into someone else doing the same thing, spill the coffee on themselves burning them.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by BigWarpGuy

If one is a safe driver, one will usually be safe no matter what one drives. The opposite is also true. It also helps to drive safely too.

I don't know about that one. I was on highway the other day and needed to move over to next lane out of lane that would turn into a turnoff. There was a car my left rear back about maybe less than 10 feet. I speed up in order to get safe distance from him and pull to left into lane he was in so I wouldn't be forced onto offramp. The jerk matched me for speed everytime I would speed up on purpose and then I ended up being in the beginning of the offramp as it separated from the highway. I started to pull off on the this shoulder area created by the division into onramp so I could wait and get back on highway because of the jerk. I was pulling off like I said to remake my attempt and the jerkwad honking his horn whiped across the division area creaded by the offramp lane of traffic I was in pretty much cutting me off. The issue I was signally I wanted to get over to left and he was not signally he wanted to get in lane I was in so he could get off on the off ramp. The jerk almost caused a wreak and he came probably not even a foot from my front left corner of corner when he whipped over like he did and didn't have the signal on.

[BigWarpGuy]

That is why I said 'usually'. There are idiots out there that do dumb things. I have driven my compact pickup for 12 years without any major incidents but there was some close calls. With the size of my little car, I will try to be even more careful.