Out of the Blue

I finally saw a "smart car" on the road, as one of them was headed towards the supermarket here in town. With spiraling gas prices I'm kind of surprised I haven't spotted one before, as a little Mayberry-style place like this seems particularly well suited to them (in fairness there has been a noticeable recent increase in bicycle and scooter traffic). I wouldn't want to be in one on the open road (are they even legal on highways?), but a place like New York City would probably be a lot better off if all the cars were so compact.

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Re: SMART cars
Jun 26, 2008, 13:59
16.
Re: SMART cars Jun 26, 2008, 13:59
Jun 26, 2008, 13:59
 
I saw them at the Auto Show last Feb. http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=79476372%40N00&q=smart&m=text I was impressed by how much space is fit into the package. I don't remember what the price started at, but yeah, the mileage isn't much better than other cars. Reviews I've read said the highway driving experience was frightening. Maybe a good second car for only around-town driving? Edit: Interesting thing is it's Rear-Wheel drive, with the engine under the floor in the back.

My higher mileage hopes are on the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems the Formula 1 race teams are developing for next season. They're supposed to store kinetic energy into a flywheel or battery.

For the years when I've regretted buying a boring car, I'm now happy I bought a Corolla.

This comment was edited on Jun 26, 14:00.
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