So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Zombie_61]

I've never driven a Smart, but I did sit in one at a car show some years ago. Roomier than I expected, but still somewhat cramped and I imagined I'd have to remember to keep my elbows tucked in while steering so as not to injure my passenger. I suppose I could get used to one for tootling around town, but the Smart car has the same problem as every other all-electric vehicle--range. On the Smart website they cite a range of only 58 miles, and I imagine that's a "best case" scenario. Seriously??? That's pathetic. I'd burn out that battery just visiting one of my doctors (and wouldn't quite make it home), and visiting certain family members would require an overnight stay while the silly thing recharges for 21 hours. No, I don't see an electric car, and certainly not a Smart car, in my near future.

 

[GHT]

I also want a manual transmission (any car is less fun without one), which eliminated the IQ as it isn't offered with one, at least in the U.S.

You need a clutch if you want a gearstick. No need for a clutch if you opt for electrickery.

 

[scottyrocks]

You need a clutch if you want a gearstick. No need for a clutch if you opt for electrickery.

I've been saying that I want an IC (internal combustion) Smart. No electrons, please.

 

[LizzieMaine]

 

[OldStrummer]

I had been researching and looking at IC Smarts. I have no desire for an electric.

I've not driven an ICE smart, but everything I've read about them is that their performance is diappointing.

That being said, part of my commute is on the open highway (motorway) and 40 mph isn't going to cut it around here. haha

I always tell people when they ask how fast my electric smart will go, "What is the speed limit?"

I can drive up to 76 mph. Around here, that's slow-pokin' in the right lane.

I also want a manual transmission (any car is less fun without one), which eliminated the IQ as it isn't offered with one, at least in the U.S.

The IQ is also about 20 inches longer than a Smart. Two of my issues where I work are congestion and what is called 'Alternate Side' parking. Basically, it's an excuse for city-folk to throw garbage in the street because it'll be cleaned up by the special street cleaning trucks of the Department of Sanitation. Cars may not park on one side of the street or the other two days a week so the trucks can do their job.

Many of the blocks I park on have more than a few less-than-a-normal-car-length curbs in between driveways, and a Smart would fit in most of them. An IQ will not (I measured).

Maybe I actually need to go drive a Smart to see if it's anything I can live with. Then the hard part will be finding a good used one.

Here is Car & Driver's review of the 2016 smart (yeah, it's a couple of years old).

 

[OldStrummer]

I've never driven a Smart, but I did sit in one at a car show some years ago. Roomier than I expected, but still somewhat cramped and I imagined I'd have to remember to keep my elbows tucked in while steering so as not to injure my passenger.

I've driven comfortably with a 6'5" passenger (who also felt comfortable). No "elbow issues" to speak of.

I suppose I could get used to one for tootling around town, but the Smart car has the same problem as every other all-electric vehicle--range. On the Smart website they cite a range of only 58 miles, and I imagine that's a "best case" scenario. Seriously??? That's pathetic. I'd burn out that battery just visiting one of my doctors (and wouldn't quite make it home), and visiting certain family members would require an overnight stay while the silly thing recharges for 21 hours. No, I don't see an electric car, and certainly not a Smart car, in my near future.

Range is a big issue. Charging not so much. I note the Karma Revero (which is not a true all-electric) gets only about 32-50 miles in EV mode (source: LA Times review). For that car, you'd better hope for the ICE boost, as the price tag is $130,000.

But it, and most of the EVs being produced today are able to fast-charge (NOT my smart, sadly). From the LA Times review: "Charging the lithium-ion batteries through the car’s onboard 6.6-kW charger at Level 1 (120 volts at 16 amps, like a typical household outlet) will take 10 hours. At Level 2 (240 volts at 32 amps), that time drops to 3 hours, 45 minutes. Using Level 3 (480 volts at 110 amps) and an off-board 40-kW DC/DC quick charging station similar to a TeslaSupercharger, reaching 80 percent of the battery’s capacity takes just 24 minutes."

I have a Level 2 charger at home, so I plug it in at night and drive away with a full charge. It's also smart enough to charge when demand is down (at night), so I pay less in electricity.

 

[scottyrocks]

I've not driven an ICE smart, but everything I've read about them is that their performance is diappointing.

By IC I meant Internal Combustion. Sorry for any confusion.

I always tell people when they ask how fast my electric smart will go, "What is the speed limit?"

I can drive up to 76 mph. Around here, that's slow-pokin' in the right lane.

That would work.

Here is Car & Driver's review of the 2016 smart (yeah, it's a couple of years old).

Thanks, I'm gonna read that right now.

 

[GHT]

Battery technology will, I'm convinced catch up sooner rather than later. I saw personal phones go from a battery so big it had to be carried in a satchel with a handset on top, to a slim credit card size affair, packed with every conceivable gizmo.
Just like today when you stop to fill up with whatever fossil fuel you burn, I'm sure that the future will see us pull in and exchange flat batteries for charged ones. The cars are really way ahead of their power source. With electric you can have a motor at every wheel and without the oscillation of a piston and the rotation of an electric motor, the speed will be blisteringly quick.
The problem is though there's hardly a sound with electric. Just recently three young men, admittedly trespassing, they were graffiti vandals, got hit by an electric driven train and all three perished. Some might say they shouldn't have been there, but there was still the dreaded knock on some poor parents door.

 

[scottyrocks]

Okay, so I guess I need to start hunting down 2nd gen 2016 Smarts with manual transmissions.

 

[OldStrummer]

By IC I meant Internal Combustion. Sorry for any confusion.

I use the acronym ICE (internal combustion engine). No confusion here (I understand IC).

 

[OldStrummer]

Battery technology will, I'm convinced catch up sooner rather than later. I saw personal phones go from a battery so big it had to be carried in a satchel with a handset on top, to a slim credit card size affair, packed with every conceivable gizmo.
Just like today when you stop to fill up with whatever fossil fuel you burn, I'm sure that the future will see us pull in and exchange flat batteries for charged ones. The cars are really way ahead of their power source. With electric you can have a motor at every wheel and without the oscillation of a piston and the rotation of an electric motor, the speed will be blisteringly quick.
The problem is though there's hardly a sound with electric. Just recently three young men, admittedly trespassing, they were graffiti vandals, got hit by an electric driven train and all three perished. Some might say they shouldn't have been there, but there was still the dreaded knock on some poor parents door.

Some states are now requiring EV makers to add noises to them for this very reason.

My smart has a built-in noise maker that cuts off when the car reaches 30mph. Kind of like the deer spooker sounds some folks put on their cars.

BMW's i8, a very sexy EV starting at 164,295, is so quiet that BMW engineer built in a "growly" supercar noise so that it sounds as gnarly as it looks!

 

[Zombie_61]

You need a clutch if you want a gearstick. No need for a clutch if you opt for electrickery.

According to this online article, that might change soon. And it verifies my thoughts regarding transmissions and IC/Electric cars. The basic function of a transmission in any vehicle is to allow the vehicle to travel at higher speeds while reducing the power demand from the engine--lower RPMs equal less fuel being used. It appears electric vehicle engineers are adjusting their previously held beliefs that an electric powered vehicle doesn't need a transmission, and that using one in conjunction with an electric motor would increase said vehicle's range by using less electricity to move the vehicle down the road. I'd guess it would require only two or three gears--one or two for "city" driving, and one for higher "highway" speeds, but it sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

 

[tonyb]

According to this online article, that might change soon. And it verifies my thoughts regarding transmissions and IC/Electric cars. The basic function of a transmission in any vehicle is to allow the vehicle to travel at higher speeds while reducing the power demand from the engine--lower RPMs equal less fuel being used. It appears electric vehicle engineers are adjusting their previously held beliefs that an electric powered vehicle doesn't need a transmission, and that using one in conjunction with an electric motor would increase said vehicle's range by using less electricity to move the vehicle down the road. I'd guess it would require only two or three gears--one or two for "city" driving, and one for higher "highway" speeds, but it sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

The video of that really, really, really fast electric car GHT posted above says it has four motors and four gearboxes. And a whole lotta other really trick sh*t, too.

I’ve never been an early adopter of new technologies. (Silly me, I’d rather defer gratification and spend a dime instead of a dollar, although I confess I’d have a Tesla right now if I had that kinda scratch.) So I’ll get an electric car a decade from now, maybe, provided I last that long. I’m quite looking forward to it.

 

[scottyrocks]

one or two for "city" driving, and one for higher "highway" speeds, but it sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

One for city driving, and one for the highway.

We have come so far.

 

[ChrisB]

I’ve never been an early adopter of new technologies.

The second mouse gets the cheese.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I’ve never been an early adopter of new technologies...

I'm the same way--let 'em work all the bugs out first, then I'll consider it. With regards to electric/hybrid vehicles, I have no problems with the concept but, as I've posted before, I just don't think they've worked enough of the bugs out yet for them to become a feasible replacement (both technologically and financially) for internal combustion vehicles.

One for city driving, and one for the highway.

View attachment 123792

We have come so far.

Given my experience with air cooled VWs, if I still had one (and the necessary cash) I'd swap out the stock transmission for a "freeway flyer" version--three gears to get me around town, and one for the highway that reduces strain on the engine and still gets me up to 65 MPH.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I wait till I can find the new technology at the side of the road with a FREE sign on it.

 

[scottyrocks]

I'm the same way--let 'em work all the bugs out first, then I'll consider it. With regards to electric/hybrid vehicles, I have no problems with the concept but, as I've posted before, I just don't think they've worked enough of the bugs out yet for them to become a feasible replacement (both technologically and financially) for internal combustion vehicles.

Given my experience with air cooled VWs, if I still had one (and the necessary cash) I'd swap out the stock transmission for a "freeway flyer" version--three gears to get me around town, and one for the highway that reduces strain on the engine and still gets me up to 65 MPH.

I was doing a bit of reading about the freeway flyer tranny.

My car, a stock 1200, does not sound or feel at all strained at 65 (indicated 70) mph on the highway. But that's as fast as I'll drive it (most people are still whipping by me, anyway), though, mainly because of the 4-wheel drums. And I leave lots of space.

I much prefer side roads at 45-50 mph.

 

[tonyb]

I wait till I can find the new technology at the side of the road with a FREE sign on it.

Some newer flat-screens give you a pretty darned stunning motion picture, and cost a small fraction of what lesser (then) state-of-the-art TVs cost a decade or so ago.

 

[tonyb]

...
My car, a stock 1200, does not sound or feel at all strained at 65 (indicated 70) mph on the highway. But that's as fast as I'll drive it (most people are still whipping by me, anyway), though, mainly because of the 4-wheel drums. And I leave lots of space.

I much prefer side roads at 45-50 mph.

I learned early in my driving career that more important than how fast a car went was how well it stopped.