If you guys think the Smart car is small, you should see some of the cars actually in use in Japan, there very small, I had a Nissan Figaro, 1.0 Turbo, it gave amazing mileage in the 50mpg range and it was peppy.

I man called Clive Sinclair who knew what the future was about but nobody listened to him at the time, the press trashed his invention as a dangerous joke, the C5 was a small one person 3 wheeled go cart, people are paying silly money for them now.

I still basically think smaller is better, we are using 1500kg of metal to transport 65Kg of human, we are using 3000 calories in fuel compared to 100 if we walked and 30 if we cycled and in a C5, we need a world that understands energy consumption and use, because we are wasting our children's inheritance.

I had looked into importing a Figaro into the US, my main hurdle was the wife. She didn't like it - said it was "too sporty" :confused: Also the ones I looked at were convertible which she hates even though it wasn't true convertible, just a fabric roof. Looked into getting a Honda Beat as well, once again - convertible.:rolleyes:

I had a convertible which I had important from Japan, it was one of the special edition ones and I sold it after 6 months people people kept on putting cards under my wiper asking me to sell it to them:thumbup:

I got an offer I couldn't refuse., I regret it now, you won't lose a single penny on these cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPmrxe5kkOc

I sat in the Smart for Two last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show and was impressed with the legroom and overall interior space as it was more than it looked to be from the outside. I have long legs and don’t fit well in some cars, but this had plenty of room for me. As far as the look of the car, I’m still going back and forth on whether I like it or not.

But here's how I see things. One of my current cars is a 1988 CRX DX with a 1997 JDM ITR motor in it. This 200HP CRX will literally ROAST a Mustang GT ALIVE in a drag race. Believe me, I have done it. And driving the thing like I am qualifying for NASCAR, it gets somewhere around 30-33MPG on the freeway. It could probably do ALOT better if I actually tried to get good mileage from it. So only 40MPG from a car that is lighter than mine with only about a third of my HP is just not impressive in my book. Oh, and I like the styling of the CRX MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better!

Which brings up a point. Why can't someone build a nice, sleek little high economy commuter like the CRX? I know that the Insight was about as close as you could get. But it is no longer available. Must a small car (literally) be an outhouse on wheels?

Underlying issues with my sexuality? If there are any issues here, this is not why I hate the Smart. If it WAS, then I probably would not be driving a beat up old CRX - even if it DOES have a 1:10 power to weight ratio! And it has nothing to do with a Smart owner stealing girlfriends. After all, you don't even see Smarts here on the road in Sacramento (ie SUV Land). I would compare my dislike of the Smart more to the way that someone might feel when the music that they like goes out of style, only to be replaced by something they can't stand. It's like there is no alternative to this tall, goofy styling for small cars. If there were more available alternatives, I would be able to be MUCH more 'live and let live' with regards to the Smart.

Honda did build and could not sell.
Honda Insight

StorminMatt- Just messin with ya on the sexuality and I know you can take it as I know you drive a CRX. You get enough jabs here and there from people about "That little car" I'm sure. :) Shoot me a PM and I'll send you a link to my cousins' website. I won't advertise for them here but they are the leading "Honda Tuners" in this part of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. One of them was receptive to the Smart and the other was a hater which is OK. :D They've got a shop car that is driven daily and has over 400hp while they claim high 20's for mileage. The car holds a few track records and tops almost all of the American V-8's in this area.

We'll see how the iQ does from Toyota. That may be more appealing alternative to the eye for people who can't appreciate quirky looking cars. (you're not a Toyota hater are you? my cousins are :rolleyes: ).

Only problem was it was pricey new, that scared away most of their potential customers. IMO though, for the technology, engineering ,and craftsmanship that went into that car - it was TOO CHEAP!! The early models were essentially handmade for those that don't know that already. Honda says they lost money on every Insight. IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE CAR!!

What I am looking for is a low, sleek roofline. Does the iQ have this? Or is the iQ just another Yaris in the sense that (like the Yaris) it is taller than a Camry? As for being a 'Toyota hater', that all depends. I don't really like Toyoas as performance cars. Much like Honda, none really has enough guts to be that quick in stock form. But unlike Honda, upgrades like engine swaps are MUCH more difficult. Furthermore, Toyota tends to do things to sabotage performance efforts like use close-coupled cats, cats that are inseparable from the exhaust manifold, and crazy exhaust systems that the aftermarket would NEVER want to touch, etc. It is for these reasons that nobody bought the last generation Celica. Stock for stock, performance might have been about as good as the Integra GSR. But you really could not make it any faster. ESPECIALLY if you wanted to stay allmotor.

On the other hand, a Toyota would be just fine for something which is not intended to be fast. So if Toyota could come up with a nice, economical cruiser that is not a gazillion feet tall, I certainly wouldn't mind having one.

Price was certainly a problem. But, in the case of the Insight, it was really a collaberation of price AND size that sabotaged it. In other words, nobody wanted to pay THAT much money for a small, two seat commuter. For what the Insight costed, people wanted something more along the lines of a midsized car. And this is where the Prius came in. The success of the Prius resulted from the fact that it billed itself as a more 'usable' car for the vast majority of folks than the Insight. I should also mention that gas prices were just not high enough when the Insight came out. Had gas been $4+ as it is today, things might have been VERY different for the Insight.

They refuse to make anything look nice that gets good gas mileage other than the civic coupe ;P

crash test dummy
 

I have seen some real crash tests of this vehicle on UTUBE with a full sized car. The way it rebounded off the other car was really disturbing and it spun around at an alarming rate. The other car just stopped in its tracks. It was like a pro football player hitting a 5 year old. OK, looking at the car later it stoodup well but what would happen to the people inside that car subject to all that extreme force.