Electric Car

[mikec]

Originally Posted by tokenuser

Smartcars are solid. They have a frame that is akin to a F1 racing car, and fully encloses the driver. It might be designed by Swatch, but the engineering is all bombproof Mercedes Benz.

Carbon Fiber monocoque? A smart car has doors and windows, something a F1 car doesn't.

BTW, if one can believe the Wikipedia entry on smart cars, it says that the Prius gets better mileage then the smart cars and a Chevy Cobalt gets 5 miles per gallon less then a smart car. A coworker has a VW Jetta TDI that gets real world 48MPG highway and high 20s in the city.

[tokenuser]

Originally Posted by mikec

Carbon Fiber monocoque? A smart car has doors and windows, something a F1 car doesn't.

Yeah, thats what I mean

Right on the monocoque construction - wrong on the material. The safety technology that went into the SmartCars was based on the lessons learnt by Mercedes Racing teams (ie McLaren) applied to consumer grade cars.

Originally Posted by mikec

BTW, if one can believe the Wikipedia entry on smart cars, it says that the Prius gets better mileage then the smart cars and a Chevy Cobalt gets 5 miles per gallon less then a smart car. A coworker has a VW Jetta TDI that gets real world 48MPG highway and high 20s in the city.

Mileages?

SmartCar Fortwo - 50mpg (petrol), 69mpg (diesel) [source]
Prius - 44mpg (according to Consumer Reports). [source]
Jetta - what you said ... but notice the fortwo DIESEL consumption (comparing Apple to Apples) ... 69mpg vs 20s-48mpg in the Jetta.

The next gen Prius (rumoured to hit market next year) is supposed to be a 50mpg vehicle, and lets face it, the Jetta and the Prius can fit four people plus luggage in reasonable comfort, but that is not the focus of the SmartCar. They are commuter cars, not touring cars. And (as anyone travelling to Europe) will see, they can park just about anywhere.

[mikec]

From smart car's web site:

33/41 (EPA 2008)

. http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-te...fications.aspx

The Canadian diesel cars aren't legal in the US, they fail the emissions standards.

As for the carbon fiber monocoque, carbon fiber would be a nightmare for any passenger car. I was referring to F1 cars. In reality, how much hands on experience does M-B have in race cars? Peter Sauber was a privateer and he built what became the Mercedes Group C cars. Ilmor provided the engines for some of the M-B F1 cars. Now M-B teams up with McLaren.

Let's not forget Mercedes' 1955 Le Mans fiasco.

[grundelboy]

I saw a show in TLC where this company converted a 67 camero to 100% electric powered but there was never a price tag on how much a conversion would cost.
I can't remember what the show was called or if it was just a pilot that never really picked up but I really dug the show and would love to do my own conversion on a car like that.

[kahunablair]

Smart Cars are great. I have an old boss that currently works the North East region for them.

The problem is, for a car that small, the MPG rating is horrible. You are better off getting a Fit, Aveo, or Yaris. All are a little bigger, but get the same gas mileage.

Originally Posted by AriaStar

Yeah, 'cept most people aren't in a position to finance the brand new cars that would be smaller and use less gas.

Funny thing about that is there was a report out a few months ago about what was cheaper, buying a New small, fuel efficient vehicle or buying a Used older car.

The used older car won out under most scenarios. I'll have to find the link to the story.

Originally Posted by Grundelboy

I saw a show in TLC where this company converted a 67 camero to 100% electric powered but there was never a price tag on how much a conversion would cost.
I can't remember what the show was called or if it was just a pilot that never really picked up but I really dug the show and would love to do my own conversion on a car like that.

There is a company that takes the Scion xB and converts it into an "eBox".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_eBox

They are a great idea. The problem is it takes a car that you can buy for $15-17,000 and makes it's a +$55,000 car.

[kahunablair]

If anyone is interested a great little blog to check out is AutoblogGreen. They cover everything, no matter how whacky, that is good for the enviroment.


My personal favorite is a local High Schools entry into the Hybrid design. It's a sweet little ride. They designed it so that it's completely marketable and easy to mass produce (one of the problems with these kind of design experiments).

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03...her-high-scho/

[acidburn]

Originally Posted by kahunablair

Funny thing about that is there was a report out a few months ago about what was cheaper, buying a New small, fuel efficient vehicle or buying a Used older car.

The used older car won out under most scenarios. I'll have to find the link to the story.

The way new cars depreciate so quickly I don't think I'll ever buy a new car again. 2-3 years old is where the best value probably is depending on the car.

[kahunablair]

Exactly. I'm looking at getting a new car myself, and I'm only looking at 2-3 year old cars.

Actually, I'm also looking at Demo cars as well. The Depreciation sometimes is already there so you don't lose the 2-3000 instant loss you do when you drive off the lot.