Smartcar or Dumbcar?

At a local mall they had 4 Smartcars for people to test drive on the
mall parking lot. The rep said that Mercedes has invested in it but it
has NO mercedes engineering or parts. The thing is made in France by
some unknown start up company with zero experience in making cars.
France has a history of making bad cars. So bad they haven't been
imported to the US for decades.

Engine is in the rear below the very small trunk space. They couldn't
get the rear hatch to open. After much pounding it opened and appears to
be flimsy plastic.

Consumer reports tested it and said it may be one of the worst cars
ever. A much smarter buy would be one of the mini cars made by
experienced car builders like: Honda, Mazda, Toyota Sirus, Mazda.

But it is good for laughs.

"J J" > wrote in message
...
> At a local mall they had 4 Smartcars for people to test drive on the
> mall parking lot. The rep said that Mercedes has invested in it but it
> has NO mercedes engineering or parts. The thing is made in France by
> some unknown start up company with zero experience in making cars.
> France has a history of making bad cars. So bad they haven't been
> imported to the US for decades.
>
> Engine is in the rear below the very small trunk space. They couldn't
> get the rear hatch to open. After much pounding it opened and appears to
> be flimsy plastic.
>
> Consumer reports tested it and said it may be one of the worst cars
> ever. A much smarter buy would be one of the mini cars made by
> experienced car builders like: Honda, Mazda, Toyota Sirus, Mazda.
>
> But it is good for laughs.
>

They've done surprisingly well in crash tests, but you can get a real car
the same money.

(J J) wrote in news:3118-470950D9-2247@storefull-
3233.bay.webtv.net:

> At a local mall they had 4 Smartcars for people to test drive on the
> mall parking lot. The rep said that Mercedes has invested in it but it
> has NO mercedes engineering or parts. The thing is made in France by
> some unknown start up company with zero experience in making cars.



Almost ten years now. They went into production in 1998.

Smart is owned by Daimler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)



> France has a history of making bad cars. So bad they haven't been
> imported to the US for decades.



Not "bad", just unsuited to American buyers' tastes. French cars sell well
elsewhere.



>
> Engine is in the rear below the very small trunk space. They couldn't
> get the rear hatch to open. After much pounding it opened and appears to
> be flimsy plastic.
>
> Consumer reports tested it and said it may be one of the worst cars
> ever. A much smarter buy would be one of the mini cars made by
> experienced car builders like: Honda, Mazda, Toyota Sirus, Mazda.
>
> But it is good for laughs.
>



I'll agree with that. You should see one at 80mph on the freeway. Looks
like a speeding phone booth.


--
Tegger

"Tegger" > wrote in message
>
> Almost ten years now. They went into production in 1998.
>
> Smart is owned by Daimler.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)

That link didnt work so well for me
This one does.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car

"hls" > wrote in news:s2dOi.2197$sm6.141
@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

>
> "Tegger" > wrote in message
>>
>> Almost ten years now. They went into production in 1998.
>>
>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>
> That link didnt work so well for me
> This one does.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car
>
>
>


That's weird. I copied and pasted that link straight from my brower's URL
window.

I just now tried it in two different browsers with no trouble.

--
Tegger

"Tegger" > wrote in message
...
> "hls" > wrote in news:s2dOi.2197$sm6.141
> @nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:
>
>>
>> "Tegger" > wrote in message
>>>
>>> Almost ten years now. They went into production in 1998.
>>>
>>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>>
>> That link didnt work so well for me
>> This one does.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> That's weird. I copied and pasted that link straight from my brower's URL
> window.
>
> I just now tried it in two different browsers with no trouble.

I dont know why either. Did the link I posted take you to the same place?

Seems that I remember the 3 cylinder diesel in the Smart was a Daimler Benz
motor. Is that how you understand it?

"hls" > wrote in
. net:

>
> "Tegger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "hls" > wrote in news:s2dOi.2197$sm6.141
>> @nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:
>>
>>>
>>> "Tegger" > wrote in message
>>>>
>>>> Almost ten years now. They went into production in 1998.
>>>>
>>>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>>>
>>> That link didnt work so well for me
>>> This one does.
>>>
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> That's weird. I copied and pasted that link straight from my brower's
>> URL window.
>>
>> I just now tried it in two different browsers with no trouble.
>
> I dont know why either. Did the link I posted take you to the same
> place?



The link works both ways for me. Same Web page comes up.


>
> Seems that I remember the 3 cylinder diesel in the Smart was a Daimler
> Benz motor. Is that how you understand it?
>


The Wikipedia page doesn't actually say. I did bit of Googling and found a
bunch of other mentions of that engine, but with nobody saying who makes
it.


--
Tegger

>>>>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>>>>
>>>> That link didnt work so well for me
>>>> This one does.
>>>>
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car

> The link works both ways for me. Same Web page comes up.


Depends on if your newsreader is smart enough to include the final ")"
character when you click the link.

"Noozer" > wrote in news:A%uOi.3415$1y4.1557@pd7urf2no:

>>>>>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>>>>>
>>>>> That link didnt work so well for me
>>>>> This one does.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car
>
>> The link works both ways for me. Same Web page comes up.
>
>
> Depends on if your newsreader is smart enough to include the final ")"
> character when you click the link.
>
>



Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 2.0.0.7, and Mozilla 1.7.13 handles the
parentheses just fine.

What does HLS use?


--
Tegger

"Tegger" > wrote in message
...
> "Noozer" > wrote in news:A%uOi.3415$1y4.1557@pd7urf2no:
>
>>>>>>> Smart is owned by Daimler.
>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(automobile)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That link didnt work so well for me
>>>>>> This one does.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Car
>>
>>> The link works both ways for me. Same Web page comes up.
>>
>>
>> Depends on if your newsreader is smart enough to include the final ")"
>> character when you click the link.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 2.0.0.7, and Mozilla 1.7.13 handles the
> parentheses just fine.
>
> What does HLS use?


HLS uses the new and depraved ****teaux Windows Mail newsreader which comes
with
Vista.

Soon, I am going to either buy and ASUS eee PC or set up another computer
with
Linux..