[toprope]

Yep, like a Beetle but with heat that actually works!

I have had 6 VWs: 1 beetle, 1 super beetle, 2 squarebacks, 1 Thing, & 1 Vanagon. I have 1 Smart. Anyway, the point of the reply is the beetle's heating was excellent, the squarebacks, so-so, the Thing was a gas operated heater that I never used, & heat in the Vanagon was non-existent, I mean come on! sending heat from an air cooled engine in the rear of a Vanagon.

 

[smark]

You could also compare the rear engine
Smart car, to the Chevy Corvair, Renault Dauphine, and Original Fiat 500. You can almost put a vintage
500, inside a smart car. It that small.

 

[Dee4usc]

We have both a VW Beetle and a smart car. what does that say about us?

...what a VW Beetle drives like, and how it compares to a Smart Car. It's been 40 years since I've driven a Beetle, and my memory dims. I do recall that the VeeDub was slower, and needed to be downshifted on hills, and wasn't as agile in it's handling, and was a lot twitchier in crosswinds. Seems that it struggled to reach 70mph, whereas my Smart likes to cruise at 70.
Similar cars in many ways, but they highlight the advances in automotive technology in half a century.
Another comparison: who has driven a BMW Isetta recently? I drove a family friend's in the '60s, but don't remember much. The Isetta seems like it would be a better comparison than the Iconic VW Beetle.

--Bill

 

[shoalsgary]

...what a VW Beetle drives like, and how it compares to a Smart Car. It's been 40 years since I've driven a Beetle, and my memory dims. I do recall that the VeeDub was slower, and needed to be downshifted on hills, and wasn't as agile in it's handling, and was a lot twitchier in crosswinds. Seems that it struggled to reach 70mph, whereas my Smart likes to cruise at 70.
Similar cars in many ways, but they highlight the advances in automotive technology in half a century.
Another comparison: who has driven a BMW Isetta recently? I drove a family friend's in the '60s, but don't remember much. The Isetta seems like it would be a better comparison than the Iconic VW Beetle.

--Bill

The SMART is more sensitive to Crosswinds than the Bug. It accelerates better but is much more difficult to work on. I’d swap my Cabrio any day for a good 67 Beetle. I’ve had a dozen beetles and two smarts.

 

[bbarrett49]

I remember my college friends Bug. We rode in in everywhere. Would hold for adult men comfortably. Something the smart car can’t do. Lots of beer runs in. It was slow, but who cares back then. VW sold 100 of thousand of the car.It was the prefect second car, in the suburbs. It was a cheap first car, for high school kids. That weren’t ashamed to drive It.

The car, was simple to work on. You could drop remove the engine, less then 30 minutes. No nonsense electronics anywhere in that car. It even was equipped with a spare tire, and a ice scraper, to scrape the front inside windshield. In the winter.

Replacement VW beetle parts today are in abundance. Repair shops too. Not so with the smart car.

I really love my little car. I‘m sorry to say this. The only thing the smart car and bug have in common. Is the rear engine. The VW beetle is a vehicle icon, in automotive history. The smart car, will go down here in history. Like the Pacer, Vega, Edsel, etc.

I LOVED THE vega, edsel and pacer also the gremlin. and the one that catches on fire, the pinto.

 

[bbarrett49]

The SMART is more sensitive to Crosswinds than the Bug. It accelerates better but is much more difficult to work on. I’d swap my Cabrio any day for a good 67 Beetle. I’ve had a dozen beetles and two smarts.

me too. i own a kubelwagen and a smart. i want a 52 vw convertible. they are all great.

 

[bill.mcbride]

I've had 4 or 5 Isettas over the years, plus a Messerschmitt and a few other exotics. Isetta is no comparison to the Smart,other than just as much fun to own and drive.
The Isetta and Smart in the picture belong to Marilyn Stine, a good friend from Isetta days.
Bill

 

[ejsmall]

I have a 2013 Passion Cabrio... once owned a 1972 Super Beetle convertible. No comparison. I drove the Beetle from Georgia to Maine and would never do that again. Ive driven our Smart from Maine to Ohio several times and was good drive. I have a 2005 New Beetle convertible. Its a decent car if you're mechanically inclined and dont mind the cost of constantly fixing a VW. My Smart will keep up with the 2.0L Beetle. For perspective, I owned a 1993 Audi 200 which took 11.25 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour. My Smart would beat that Audi and I think outhandle it too.

Im in the garage right now working on my Smart... detailing and regular maintenance and still impressed with how good it looks and how well it has held up at 10 years. Very well engineered car. I expect its demise will ultimately be availability of parts.

 

[cagney57]

I had a 1959 VW and it came with a stick to measure your fuel in the tank...it had one gauge...the speedometer!!

 

[Bill Harris]

The SMART is more sensitive to Crosswinds than the Bug. It accelerates better but is much more difficult to work on. I’d swap my Cabrio any day for a good 67 Beetle. I’ve had a dozen beetles and two smarts.

I'd snap up a Beetle in a heartbeat. About 4 years ago I almost bought a '73 SuperBeetle. Curved windshield, MacPherson strut front suspension, in immaculate condition. I hesitated and it got snapped up.
But I do enjoy my Smart, and lordy mercy it will be a trial to maintain, but that's life.
My other car, my "highway driving" car, is a Nissan Cube, which is a Renault design that Nissan adopted. It' s a joy and a pain, also. Old Dependable is a Ford/Mitsubishi pickup truck.

--Bill

 

[shanecampbell3355]

I remember my college friends Bug. We rode in in everywhere. Would hold for adult men comfortably. Something the smart car can’t do. Lots of beer runs in. It was slow, but who cares back then. VW sold 100 of thousand of the car.It was the prefect second car, in the suburbs. It was a cheap first car, for high school kids. That weren’t ashamed to drive It.

The car, was simple to work on. You could drop remove the engine, less then 30 minutes. No nonsense electronics anywhere in that car. It even was equipped with a spare tire, and a ice scraper, to scrape the front inside windshield. In the winter.

Replacement VW beetle parts today are in abundance. Repair shops too. Not so with the smart car.

I really love my little car. I‘m sorry to say this. The only thing the smart car and bug have in common. Is the rear engine. The VW beetle is a vehicle icon, in automotive history. The smart car, will go down here in history. Like the Pacer, Vega, Edsel, etc.

Pacer Sold 280k units, Vega sold less than 100, edsel sold 68k....... Smart has been in production for over 20 years and has sold over 3 million. Poor comparison, seems more feelings than facts, though That does seem to be the way these days

 

[Big Guy Small Car]

Never could get my head around a beetle, especially the last ones made with the plastic vase on the dash for a flower, I mean would a man ever drive a car with a flower on the dash?

I think you mean "pen holder" 🤣 Which was the exact phrase I was told by a VW rep at the international car show I attended when I asked about it. They were unveiling the new beetle design that year. I about fell over. Coupled with the painted door sills, I couldn't wrap my head around some of the design choices that VW had made for it. Still, it was still a nice-looking slight modernization of a classic in my opinion. Better than some i've seen over the years.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

Pacer Sold 280k units, Vega sold less than 100, edsel sold 68k....... Smart has been in production for over 20 years and has sold over 3 million. Poor comparison, seems more feelings than facts, though That does seem to be the way these days

Were AMC Pacer, Chevy Vega and Ford Edsel sold outside the US?
How much of that 3 million smart sales are counted for in North America only?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Pacer Sold 280k units, Vega sold less than 100, edsel sold 68k....... Smart has been in production for over 20 years and has sold over 3 million. Poor comparison, seems more feelings than facts, though That does seem to be the way these days

Well, if you're going to go down the "feelings vs facts" road, I have some bad news...

The AMC Pacer sold 280,000 units only in the United States. An unspecified number were sold in Mexico.
And I'm not entirely sure what you mean with "Vega sold less than 100." Chevrolet made nearly 2 million Vegas when you count every variation.

Smart sold exactly 98,800 vehicles over the span of 11 years before pulling out of the U.S. market. I would advise not attacking another member if you desire to stay here for some time. Otherwise, welcome!

 

[colin25]

I think you mean "pen holder" 🤣 Which was the exact phrase I was told by a VW rep at the international car show I attended when I asked about it.........

Likely he said 'pen holder' to men, and 'lovely flower vase' to women.
Car reps are real sneaky that way

 

[Smarty-rants]

This was our last one - sold it about ten years ago.

Len View attachment 72749

Looks like a creampuff 1964. If I could see the entire rear window and license plate light I could say for sure. I had four 64's three 63's one 60 and one 65. I also had a 66 Campmobile briefly that burned to the ground on the Jersey Turnpike. We did manage to save the contents and ourselves. When the transaxel caught it burned like the sun!

 

[Smarty-rants]

Yep, like a Beetle but with heat that actually works!

Ah YES! Tooling down the road, right hand on the steering wheel, left hand operating the ice scraper! Alternating between the outside of the wind shield and the inside. It's amazing how small of a port hole was required to actually see and guess where you were going. I did that for two winters in Connecticut until I figured out how to replace my rotted out floor pan. My 63's had an ivory colored plastic knob that you would turn like a faucet handle. My 64's had 250 air. 2 vent windows and 50 mph and you were chillin! (Until you caught a yellow jacket TDC on your chest!) I ALWAYS carried 5 things in my Beetles. 1) A 10 lb fire extinguisher, 2) A Frisbee, 3) A pair of swimming shorts, 4) A large Beach towel, 5) My Coleman ' Lil Oscar cooler. THAT was my survival kit. ☺

 

[Smarty-rants]

I'd snap up a Beetle in a heartbeat. About 4 years ago I almost bought a '73 SuperBeetle. Curved windshield, MacPherson strut front suspension, in immaculate condition. I hesitated and it got snapped up.
But I do enjoy my Smart, and lordy mercy it will be a trial to maintain, but that's life.
My other car, my "highway driving" car, is a Nissan Cube, which is a Renault design that Nissan adopted. It' s a joy and a pain, also. Old Dependable is a Ford/Mitsubishi pickup truck.

--Bill

Back in the day Super Beetles were unaffordable at least for kids with more brains than money. I bought a 63 beetle on top of a 10' pile of junk cars from a scrap dealer in Virginia Beach while I was stationed in Norfolk. $50 got him to gently lower it with his forklift. Me and a buddy spent the next two days swapping the engine, transaxel, I- beam and interior from my severely rotted out 63 to that sweet no rust honey bug. They were BOTH black so I felt right at home. My old rust bucket took it's rightful place on top of the pile and we drove off into the sunset. No more getting splashed in the face dodging puddles in the Fred Flintstone mobile AND I had HEAT! Today? You couldn't buy the hood emblem for $50!

 

[Smarty-rants]

We have both a VW Beetle and a smart car. what does that say about us?

DOUBLE FRUGALITY

 

[Karl Roth]

The Bettle was a Cultural/Financial success. Still love my smart.