Last year I saw a Smart Car on the road for the first time. I was so excited, I went home and looked it up on the internet, because I had only read about it cursorily. I thought it might be an electric vehicle, but I didn't remember exactly. So I looked it up, and was not too surprised that it is run by gasoline, but I was surprised when I read it's gas mileage: 33 city/41 highway mpg. I was shocked. Someone had obviously gone to a lot of trouble to buy that car. It's not easy to get, you have to order it, and wait a long time, and it isn't cheap. But I wondered why they had gotten it. For it's size, the fuel economy was outrageous. Horrible! My van is at least four times that size, and it gets about 16 MPG. That is not a good mileage, I know, it rankles. Back to my point, though, I would think that a vehicle 1/4 the size of my van would get at least as good mileage- comparatively, but even if it was as efficient as my van, it would get around 64 MPG. If my van were as inefficient as the smart car, it would get about 8 MPG.So, basically, I think anyone who buys this car is being tricked. Personally, I think it wouldn't be that difficult to get the mpg on a vehicle this small and light up near 100 MPG. I am just sizzling with frustration at our "Green" options.
4 comments:
Ya buying a smart car for energy efficiency reasons are pretty bunk. I was also extremely surprised when I found out how bad it did fuel efficient wise.
It wasn't built for efficiency as much as it was built for space. They were everywhere in Hamburg, Germany 4 years ago. Thing is they are incredibly convenient for driving around Europe. Narrow roads and lack of parking makes it ideal to zip around in.
Plus I think the sports model version of it is pretty cool.
Brian, you are right, there are other reasons - like space economy, to buy them. The funny thing is, I saw that car in Utah, where roads were specifically designed to be roomy. So that leaves as a reason to buy it - a cool looking car.
I should also add that I am no mathematician, and I am even less of a mechanic. My ratio's and MPG's are completely amateur calculations.
Plus, with only one or two per car, the freeways will be even more packed than before. So long car pools.
Patricia
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