Smart car for Smart People

I suppose it would, but I've also had the occasion to drive the regular Smartie.  It isnt very different.

Yes the rear of the car squats under acceleration.  This is a function of body weight distribution and not the suspension - it is a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive vehicle with nothing in front but plastic panels.  The weight of the engine, the tridon (or whatever its called) metal cage and most of the passenger weight is on the rear wheels - its like a speedboat when it accelerates, in the sense that the front lifts up slightly.  That is NOT because the suspension is soft - its because of all the torque driving the rear wheels with very little in front (except for the battery which sits over the front axle) to balance the weight.

Drive it on a slightly imperfect road and you will find every little bump and every expansion joint on a bridge being transmitted to the seats.  If it had a 'soft' suspension this wouldnt be the case.

The benefit of this is that the car handles really well - for a tall vehicle with a short and squarish wheelbase it can be thrown around corners quite comfortably.  If the vehicle did indeed have a soft suspension it would've toppled over a few times during the time I drove it around.

I guess the suspension problem is due to very little room in the wheel wells for play, so the suspension has to be hard to limit the vertical wheel movement within a safe range. Looking at the pic steeroid posted, the wheels filled the wheel well almost completely, so allowing much movement there would be troublesome.

Hi Binoy,

No Offence meant, but i wonder the usage of "son of a gun" should be avoided; since controversies exists on its actual meaning and origin (see). I'm worried because wherever i have heard my US colleagues using the phrase, they were rather as an abuse. Please correct me if my perception is wrong, as i know a person of your caliber wouldn't miss that.

Thanks

NIk!

I'm an American, and usually I hear "son of a gun" used as a substitute for an expletive.  It can be positive, negative, or just express surprise.  One might consider it a synonym for the beep used to cover up an inappropriate word on TV.  At least in the US it's not offensive in and of itself, though of course it can be used in an insulting sentence.  However, I have no idea how it is regarded in the UK, Australia, etc.  There are significant differences in the more "colorful" bits of the English language as used in various countries.

As for the Smart ForTwo, it doesn't sell well in the US.  I see one occasionally, but they're rare.  They have a few problems selling well here.  I can think of a few:

2 seats and minimal boot space, same big problem as in India.  Except for the gas guzzling, a Chevrolet Corvette is more practical -- it has a large boot.

At $12,000, it costs as much as an inexpensive "regular" car, so even as a family's second car its only real advantage is in fuel savings.  A few hundred dollars a year in fuel just isn't enough to convince most Americans that it's worth putting up with a 2-seater with minimal boot space.  I suspect the same problem would be even worse for the Smart in India since Indians can buy smaller and more fuel efficient 4+ seat cars than those available in the US.

It doesn't look like a "real" car. 

People worry about being crushed by a huge SUV.

Americans like used cars too much for the Smart to sell well.  $12,000 new cars don't sell well because an American with $12,000 to spend will probably buy a much nicer 3-4 year old used car that cost around $20,000 new for around $10,000, then save the rest in case it needs repairs.

OT

Nikhil thanks for the pointer on the usage. Was aware of the referenced meaning of the same but was also aware of the cultural usage of the term in out region/country to mean surprise(even pleasant !).

Thanks to Mike i guess we have a first hand impression on how the usage is perceived in the west(US).

But I personally will make it a point not to use the expression, as now i realize that it is associated to different connotations rather than an unified meaning.

Apologies to Steer beforehand if he had felt offended by the same.

On a lighter note-have a look here!!

Hi Binoy,

I can understand your perception over the slang when you were using the same, so does everybody who knows you in CW can understand as well. But i was afraid about what any newcomer to CW would interpret. Anyways the clarifications from Mike and you are worthy enough to avoid the confusions. 

@ Mike, info. about the Smart car buzz, were spec.d from here. Also from some of my colleagues from the west (US), who owns one.

Thanks

NIk! 

Binoy

Chill man.  No offense taken - if one were to take offense at all thats written on forums you wouldnt have the time for real issues!  That explains my signature.

PS: Was in TVM this morning, hunted the forum for your number but couldnt get it.  Can you email it across to me - I may be there on Thu/Fri and will be more than happy to meet you.  Lets meet up at Casabianca or some other place.

OT

Thats great!

Sure Steer no problem. Will email the contact details.