iOwnTheWorld.com

I drive a GMC Duramax with a 6 inch lift. I was parked behind one of these contraptions at a stop light last week. The damn things a speed bump. I swear it disappeared under my hood.

+6

In the 80′s I had a girlfriend who had a Honda Civic 3-door, the car was surprisingly fast but also quite small.

A few months ago we bought a ’12 Honda Civic LX, it is twice the size and twice as fast as that old 80′s Civic.

I’ve also seen mileage on the new Civic in excess of 44MPG, which is 6-7 more MPGs than a Smart Car.

Why?

Well a myth some folks think is that a 2 seat car that weighs less than any other car will get better MPGs than a bigger car.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

There are forces at play regarding AERODYNAMICS that is just too technical for your typical progressive to understand. The LARGER Civic with BIGGER engine gets better MPGs because there is MORE metal that can be sculpted to flow air. The Smart Car and the Fiat 500 or Mini Cooper are small and lightweight but they also have a flat rear end which creates air disturbances that add weight to the car. Further the tiny engines are overworked to overcome the added load, so they use more gasoline.

The inherent problem will always be wind resistance because people prefer sitting down while driving over laying on their back. A tiny car still punches a relatively large hole through the air and once the hole is open, the small car doesn’t have enough area relative to it’s size to effectively control airflow.

BBC Top Gear did an interesting test.

They put a BMW M3 with 414HP 4.0L V8 up against a Toyota Prius 1.5L 4 cylinder engine around a track. The Prius would drive as fast as it could and the BMW would follow, at the end of 10 laps they compared the amount of fuel used. The Prius did 17.2 MPG and the BMW M3 did 19.4 MPG.

See for yourself a shot 2 minute clip if you start at 4:20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmxUsGiGp3w
.

+5

Here’s another interesting BBC Top Gear test.

Faster cars ARE SAFER than slower cars!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qubpD1SMHUY
.

+4

Introducing the Renault “Twizy”
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UnT7NZJ0Rxo/Tcei1HuJVtI/AAAAAAAAAAk/VCQxV8l7XoA/s1600/Phlog_Renault_Twizy_436126.jpg
These make a smart car look like a sedan!

+3

Jethro the only thing that or any of these micro cars are good at is city dwelling, which is a liberal utopia.

Get one out in the country and run it over with a Ford F-350!

+4

I would much rather have a motor cycle.

+5

My liberal relatives are downstairs right now discussing the benefits of smart cars and Segways. I had to leave before there was another smart car related fatality.

I just love being a B&B for morons.

+8

Remember when cars had metal in them? Good times.

+7

My idea of a Smart Car.

+4

There was a video on YouTube about how safe these “Smart” cars are. One of the tests involved a barrier crash. They drove the car into a cement beam at something like 35 MPH. The passenger compartment was relatively intact.

But the beam was placed at an angle to the direction of travel. That is, the angle was the overriding variable in the crash. They did NOT redo the crash with the beam perpendicular to the direction of travel. Someone pointed this out in the comments and was lambasted by the koolaidians for not understanding “science.”

I would say to give all of the ‘tards these dumb cars but when the number of deaths due to auto accidents involving these cars rises to 1 million a year, they’ll demand real cars and trucks be outlawed to make it safe themselves.

+2

Standed – this is mine:
http://www.moparrebellion.com/images/CJumper71Cuda.jpg
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGzFpRF08QU
.

+1

You guys and them sissy cars, I prefer to roll like Idi Amin!

lol! Listen to this.

+2

See, without the edit feature, I can’t add a period.

+1

Well, one advantage is he can be buried in the car. Just dig a hole and dump the whole mess in.

Saving big bucks on funerals.

+5

It’s also a “smart” casket, no need to go to the costco.

+1

The only thing the Smartcar is good for is target practice.

I go out of my way to roll down my window, and point and laugh whenever I see a smartcar. the drivers always return the gesture with a look of confusion…

0

Have you ran a smart-car off the road today?

It’s really a refreshing experience…

+2