Lets save the future of our great sports cars

[rckwd]

We all know about the new SMART car seen below:





Well our car companies seem to be following suit with their own Smart sports cars:




The new SmarVEtte:




The new Smarborghini




The new SmarPorsche




The new SmarFerrari







And last but not least,

our beloved,

and my personal favorite,

SmartStang

[GaijinGolfer]

Photoshop is fun, isnt it? Sadly though, cars like the Smartcar are going to become a reality. Toyota recently announced they would be bringing the iQ over from Japan, which is much like the Smartcar except it gets MUCH better gas milage (estimated to be 40-50 mpg, unlike the Smartcar's 30-35).
The gas prices are going to skyrocket again once the world's economies rebound, so people are going to be pretty much forced into buying small cars.
Families who are on a budget wont be able to afford to drive an SUV that gets 10 mpg. Im driving a '99 Ford F-150 right now that gets 17 mpg and Im looking at downsizing. I'll probably end up buying a 4x2 regular cab Toyota Tacoma or a regular cab 4x2 Ford F-150 (would love a Toyota, but you can buy used F-150s for dirt cheap and they are a pretty decent truck). I want something that gets better mpg, but I still need a truck for hauling stuff sometimes.
Its a sad reality that most of us are going to be forced to wake up to: the days of cheap gas, cruising around and gas-guzzling V8s are coming to an end.

[rckwd]

Photoshop is fun, isnt it? Sadly though, cars like the Smartcar are going to become a reality. Toyota recently announced they would be bringing the iQ over from Japan, which is much like the Smartcar except it gets MUCH better gas milage (estimated to be 40-50 mpg, unlike the Smartcar's 30-35).

How well I know. I also own a gas guzzling F150 4x w/351HO that now gets 10mpg. It was getting 7mpg until I swapped the 15-37's for 12-35's. I kring every time the gas goes up a cent. But the reality is that someday we will no longer be able to or afford to drive "luxury" (i.e. big trucks, hotrods etc.) vehicles.

[zeg]

I think it's sad, but ultimately a good thing. The fact is that big trucks, overpowered sports cars, etc, are woefully inefficient for most of the everyday driving they're used for. Gas prices aside, that means extra pollution, etc. So ultimately it's good if people are "forced" to use a vehicle that's as efficient as possible to do what they need it to do. We'll be a lot better off if people commute in a "smart car" and only use the big pickup when they actually need to haul a of lumber or whatnot. Not sure that the current breed of smart cars is smart enough -- mid-30 mpg is not so impressive for such a small vehicle, but something along those lines is what I mean.

But it's sad in the sense that driving those woefully inefficient hunks of steel or carbon fiber is so much fun. On the bright side, a tiny, light car with a high low-end torque electric motor can be fun, too... more like a go-kart than a Corvette, but still more fun than some of the underpowered compact cars out there.

My biggest worry about the little cars is safety. Before people get converted to these things (assuming it happens), they'll be sharing the road with some much larger and heavier vehicles. Right now I would not want to be (literally!) caught dead in one of those on the freeways here in LA...

[rckwd]

I think it's sad, but ultimately a good thing. The fact is that big trucks, overpowered sports cars, etc, are woefully inefficient for most of the everyday driving they're used for. Gas prices aside, that means extra pollution, etc. So ultimately it's good if people are "forced" to use a vehicle that's as efficient as possible to do what they need it to do. We'll be a lot better off if people commute in a "smart car" and only use the big pickup when they actually need to haul a of lumber or whatnot. Not sure that the current breed of smart cars is smart enough -- mid-30 mpg is not so impressive for such a small vehicle, but something along those lines is what I mean.

I agree with you..good post

[GaijinGolfer]

My biggest worry about the little cars is safety. Before people get converted to these things (assuming it happens), they'll be sharing the road with some much larger and heavier vehicles. Right now I would not want to be (literally!) caught dead in one of those on the freeways here in LA...

Your fears are unfounded. Small cars actually do better in crash tests that do trucks and big SUVs.

The small cars crumple more and absorb that forced of the crash, whereas the trucks dont and transfer that energy to the occupants. Personally, as much as I love my F-150, if I didnt need a truck for hauling stuff (firewood for heating my home in the winter and for hauling my snowmobile), Id be driving a car. I almost bought a Toyota Camry a couple years back and I really liked how comfortable and how smooth the ride of the Camry was, not to mention 30 mpg would be nice. My girlfriend has an '08 Ford Escape 4WD V6 and I like that thing too. Smooth ride, comfortable and decent gas milage (25 mpg).

[BigTazz53]

imo,
I don't want someone telling me what I can or can't drive unless their paying for said car.
Crash test..If in a crash I'd take my chances in my Dodge 1500 Quad cab better than I would ANY compact car on the road.
Crash test are done in a controlled also, don't forget that. Although I'd like to test drive the "SmarVEtte"
My truck gets about 16 mpg and it doesn't matter if it gets that or 30 mpg, gas prices are still gonna go up for some BS reason until obama's administration actually wants to do something about it.
Right now they want people to buy 40 thousand dollar hybrid cars.
How does that help the cost of fuel? It doesn't as we've seen this past year, the US fuel usage went down but the prices are rising again and as a nation, we aren't using more than we did so why is it on the rise?
Hurricane season?
Middle East war?
Russia is mad?
Korea is bout to blow themselves up?
Or a seagull that pooped on the pipeline down in the gulf and now the refinery has to shut down for clean up for a week?
I don't know why but I'm keeping my truck till I can buy a new truck

ps
Buy American, it does matter

[RocketSauce]

lol, those photos were hilarious! but I will keep my GTO and my 67 Mustang Fastback (with its big block 330hp 390 in it). i dont care how much gas they guzzle. i love my cars and will never get rid of them and i dont want to be told what i should be driving.

[Meddle]

Buying "Smart Cars" and hybrids in general doesn't make any sense. Unless gas prices rise to $8 a gallon or something like that, they are uneconomical since they cost so much. There's no way a Smart Car woudn't be obliterated, along with whoever's inside it, by a pick-up or van in a crash. And for anyone worrying about pollution out there, where do you think the power is coming from when you plug your Smart Car into the wall? Coal burning factories that are way less efficient and more polluting than a normal car.

[zeg]

Your fears are unfounded. Small cars actually do better in crash tests that do trucks and big SUVs.

My fear isn't that the cars are inherently less safe, it's that the other larger, heavier cars with bumpers that are sometimes well above the hood of a small car put you at a huge "disadvantage" in a collision. Crashing into a wall? I'll take the smaller car. Crashing into another car? Being in the heavier vehicle reduces the energy that your safety systems have to dissipate.

I don't want someone telling me what I can or can't drive unless their paying for said car.

Well, we all are paying for the pollution your car is producing, so there is a legitimate social interest. That said, nobody here is telling you what to drive.

My truck gets about 16 mpg and it doesn't matter if it gets that or 30 mpg, gas prices are still gonna go up for some BS reason until obama's administration actually wants to do something about it.

Oil prices are the result of a very complex economic system, as your examples clearly illustrate. Other nations, particularly China and India, are using more and more fuel. The oil prices depend on a lot more than our consumption. Still, that's not an argument to say "**** it" and go on with wasteful practices (I'm not saying you're saying that). If anything, that volatility is a reason to reduce usage and dependence on that energy source. Plus, what are you comparing prices to? It's summer, so gas prices are going to be higher than they were a few months ago.

Still, gas prices in the US are far lower than they are in many parts of the world, for a variety of reasons. What is the "right" price? Lowering gas prices is not a solution to the problem; maybe it's a temporary patch, but IMO it might be better for the nation to face the problem head on. We all know that when your drive goes in the woods, you're usually better off "taking your medicine" than hoping for a miracle.

[rckwd]

...The oil prices depend on a lot more than our consumption...

And that is the ONE thing that burns me up about our rising gas prices....the prices rise and fall more, not on the cost per barrel, but on speculation

[CG031]

Didn't Obama and congress pass a bill where American car makers can't make a car or SUV or truck under 30 MPG after 2010? I thought I read that somewhere, could be wrong.

[rckwd]

Didn't Obama and congress pass a bill where American car makers can't make a car or SUV or truck under 30 MPG after 2010? I thought I read that somewhere, could be wrong.

The Obama Administration announced today that it will require the nation’s 2011 model year cars and trucks to meet a fleetwide average of 27.3 mpg or 8 percent above the 2010 model year requirement of 25.3 mpg.

The new fuel-efficiency standards come a day after Obama strongly hinted that his administration will provide the auto industry with more government loans. Of course, the news is a shock to GM, Chrysler and other automakers who are looking to cut their work force, reduce cost and produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. A majority of automakers have previously said that stricter fuel-efficiency standards will cost them billions of dollars. Obama said yesterday that he is willing to provide additional aid given that the auto industry must be willing to face tougher restructuring conditions. General Motors and Chrysler have requested an additional $21.6 billion in government aid. - By: Kap Shah Source: Detroit News

[rckwd]

Didn't Obama and congress pass a bill where American car makers can't make a car or SUV or truck under 30 MPG after 2010? I thought I read that somewhere, could be wrong.

I didnt post the above post to prove you wrong but because I, like you, had read something similar and I thought I would post it...I just didnt want you to get the wrong impression.

[CG031]

I didnt post the above post to prove you wrong but because I, like you, had read something similar and I thought I would post it...I just didnt want you to get the wrong impression.

No, I didn't get the wrong impression - I took it that you were helping me get the details straight. Thanks, it helped.

I like the thing Obama did, I think it's a step in the right direction to eventually cut back on our dependence on oil.

[rckwd]

No, I didn't get the wrong impression - I took it that you were helping me get the details straight. Thanks, it helped.

I would like to see our dependence on oil diminish myself but I think as long as we have crooked politicians in office with their butt licking of OPEC and the oil companies with their deep pockets ...its going to be a "long row to hoe".

[zeg]

Buying "Smart Cars" and hybrids in general doesn't make any sense. Unless gas prices rise to $8 a gallon or something like that, they are uneconomical since they cost so much.

I agree, certainly regarding the current generation of hybrids. I think the SmartCars are overpriced, but unlike the hybrids, I think this is a market-driven price rather than an actual cost of manufacturing issue. It may also be that the volumes are lower so the per-unit price is higher. Regardless, going out and buying a new car just to get better MPG is a bad idea-- when you figure in the cost/environmental impact of the car itself, it's a net lose. If you were going to buy the car anyway, it's a somewhat different story. In my case, I've got a 9-year-old car that gets > 20 mpg city, > 30 mpg highway, so I'm in no hurry to replace it.

And for anyone worrying about pollution out there, where do you think the power is coming from when you plug your Smart Car into the wall? Coal burning factories that are way less efficient and more polluting than a normal car.

I agree, coal burning is a bad tradeoff. However, there are other types of factories out there that we should certainly move toward. Also, one advantage, even if the net pollution is equal, is that with power plants you can choose a convenient place for the emissions. Thus, you can locate your power plant far from where people live and outside of areas like LA where the basin traps the exhaust.

[Meddle]

I agree, coal burning is a bad tradeoff. However, there are other types of factories out there that we should certainly move toward. Also, one advantage, even if the net pollution is equal, is that with power plants you can choose a convenient place for the emissions. Thus, you can locate your power plant far from where people live and outside of areas like LA where the basin traps the exhaust.

It is true that you can allocate the pollution to a specific area away from where people live, but the net pollution is definitely not equal. There are so many old inefficient factories on the power grid that any alternative clean energy we get from windmills (which account for less than 5% of the power on the grid) and nuclear power (accounts for 20% of power on grid) still won't make up for it in comparison to relatively efficient new cars.

Nuclear power plants take 20 years to build, and Obama is not going to build them. Wind power is sporadic (the wind doesn't always blow) and expensive, and don't produce much power. Same with solar energy, the technology just isn't there to effectively capture power from the sun without huge amounts of money. My point is things aren't going to turn around anytime soon pollution-wise. We need to wait for the technology to develop, and it will. Reducing our foreign oil dependence is the only argument that works for me as far as building hybrids and more fuel efficient cars, but do we really want government takeovers of private companies (GM) to get that done? When everyone realizes how much money they will lose by buying a hybrid, won't they buy a normal car, which would cause GM to tank since Obama is making them build hybrids and expensive fuel efficient cars? And perhaps more importantly, isn't the government overstepping their bounds by getting involved with private companies?