[13Kings]

How safe is the smart car in comparison to many of its competitors.

[ChrisV]

Quite safe. It's essentially a street legal roll cage.

http://www.safeandsmart.com/stories

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...llover-safety/

and it's vastly better than any tiny 2 seat city car that has come before.

[BU Z4]

Well it depends on which smart car, this one looks very safe:

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by 13Kings

How safe is the smart car in comparison to many of its competitors.

Everyone's problem with the Smart Fortwo is that it can't survive a head-on collision with a semi without a scratch. Of course, nothing else can, but it really seems to come up a lot when you drive a Smart.

Everyone ignores that they're made for city commuting, where they're typically driven around 30-40 mph around cars of similar size, rather than playing chicken on the interstate.

They also ignore the fact that the Smart was on sale in Europe for 10 years before it got here, and we haven't heard reports of thousands of crash deaths due to their size before these death-traps were unleashed here.

[ptack]

Originally Posted by BU Z4

Well it depends on which smart car, this one looks very safe:

I got a feeling there's a slight risk of roll-over there.

[Graham M]

Yes its true it does have a remarkably strong roll cage. The problem THAT leaves; is that since there is VERY little for crumple zones (ones that absorb impact, thus minimizing the amount of energy YOU absorb) are quite minimal.

So yes, the likely hood of the car ripping to shreds in a serious accident are slim, the chance of suffering massive trauma from being whipped around like a pinball are significantly greater then that of even a miata.

Hopefully that answers any questions you may have

Per EPbrowns comments, yes the Smartcar is quite old in design. I remember a German co-worker showing me Germany's ebay website for all the smart cars as I believe the design is relatively unchanged from the very early 90's, minus engine improvements obviously.
you should google "Smart car - Roadster" to see their un-released European two door roadster. Its a very cool and sleak little car, I really wish they'd release it here

[Garduna]

Originally Posted by BU Z4

Well it depends on which smart car, this one looks very safe:

I love that thing lol

[CarbonFiberKreations]

Originally Posted by Garduna

I love that thing lol

Looks like a fun toy

[Graham M]

^ I love that GINORMOUS turbo right beside the (closest) tire. I wonder what kind of engine/tranny combo its running. Looks pretty redonkulous to say the least.

[Top_Gear_Fan]

Originally Posted by BU Z4

Well it depends on which smart car, this one looks very safe:

LOL WTF! Now THAT's epic.

[ChrisV]

Originally Posted by Graham M

Yes its true it does have a remarkably strong roll cage. The problem THAT leaves; is that since there is VERY little for crumple zones (ones that absorb impact, thus minimizing the amount of energy YOU absorb) are quite minimal.

So yes, the likely hood of the car ripping to shreds in a serious accident are slim, the chance of suffering massive trauma from being whipped around like a pinball are significantly greater then that of even a miata.

Except that as I posted, in real accidents with real people in real cars, that's not an actual issue. So, instead of working with theories and hypothetical outcomes, maybe you might want to absorb the real world data of what happens to these cars and their occupants in real world crashes. Like on the page I posted.

We need to stop spreading fear based on conjecture, and only deal in what has really happened with them over the years. And what has really happened has proven them to be very safe to be in in the event of a crash.

http://www.safeandsmart.com/stories/4

[Graham M]

Originally Posted by ChrisV

Except that as I posted, in real accidents with real people in real cars, that's not an actual issue. So, instead of working with theories and hypothetical outcomes, maybe you might want to absorb the real world data of what happens to these cars and their occupants in real world crashes. Like on the page I posted.

We need to stop spreading fear based on conjecture, and only deal in what has really happened with them over the years. And what has really happened has proven them to be very safe to be in in the event of a crash.

http://www.safeandsmart.com/stories/4

As far as real accidents involving real people and real world data; would a family member count? or is that also heresay and conjecture?

[blue2fire]

Since you live in Los Angeles, what competitors?

[ChrisV]

Originally Posted by Graham M

As far as real accidents involving real people and real world data; would a family member count? or is that also heresay and conjecture?

With pics, and backed up with more evidence and similar stories? And that can't be duplicated in a different car?

One or even two cases does not a trend make. But dozens? The fact that the safety record has been superb not just in the US, but over the years in Europe, in real crashes, kind of makes a single story an outlier. No matter how personal.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by ChrisV

With pics, and backed up with more evidence and similar stories? And that can't be duplicated in a different car?

One or even two cases does not a trend make. But dozens? The fact that the safety record has been superb not just in the US, but over the years in Europe, in real crashes, kind of makes a single story an outlier. No matter how personal.

Exactly - you could find anecdotal evidence of some horrible accident for any car model. Percentage-wise, the Z4 M Coupe must look pretty accident-prone; out of 1815 cars, we've seen how many cars wrecked and/or totaled?

[Jules-B]

i want one of these smart cars.. This one has a gsxr1000 engine in, but im looking to build one with the hayabusa 1300 engine

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Jules-B

i want one of these smart cars.. This one has a gsxr1000 engine in, but im looking to build one with the hayabusa 1300 engine

You have to remove the passenger seat for the Hayabusa.