Bugsy is a giant compared to a SMART Car

[Jim_Gruber]

I ended up parked next to a Smart for 2 Car today and Bugsy seemed absolutely huge next to that car. Cut off the trunk and 2/3rd of the hood and you are the size of a Smart. I'd be more than a little worried in a crash in that car.

 

[jhorton3]

I'd still like to have a Smart FourTwo. I could park it and Midgie in the same garage bay! From what I've read though the shifting of the manumatic transmission is a bit crude.

 

[mrsprite]

From what I've read though the shifting of the manumatic transmission is a bit crude.

Which is why I decided to buy a Yaris instead of a Smart car. Why they don't offer it with a real stick shift is beyond me....it would certainly improve driveability and fuel mileage.

 

[JPSmit]

From what I've read though the shifting of the manumatic transmission is a bit crude.

Which is why I decided to buy a Yaris instead of a Smart car. Why they don't offer it with a real stick shift is beyond me....it would certainly improve driveability and fuel mileage.

Because it's not designed for you or me. 90% of new drivers don't how to drive standard - sooo, if you want to sell to "20 something" urban dwellers, no stick.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

From what I've read though the shifting of the manumatic transmission is a bit crude.

Which is why I decided to buy a Yaris instead of a Smart car. Why they don't offer it with a real stick shift is beyond me....it would certainly improve driveability and fuel mileage.

Because it's not designed for you or me. 90% of new drivers don't how to drive standard - sooo, if you want to sell to "20 something" urban dwellers, no stick.

Yep.

When I bought my '05 Tacoma, I wanted the six-speed manual. But I was told that Toyota's marketing research said that folks who bought the 4WD, 4-door model wanted automatic; not enough demand for manual transmission. So it was only available with automatic

Didn't ask ME what I wanted...

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I took my neighbor's son for a ride in the Midget once. He was 11 years old at the time and had never been in a manual shift car. He was totally amazed and a bit confused. However, since I live in the city, these kids are not exposed to tractors, motorcycles, farm trucks, etc. like I was when I was a child.

 

[bugimike]

Hehehe, by contrast, I did not know what an AUTOMATIC was until I encountered an imported '58 Chevy at the age of 13! Dad would let me shift for him from a very early age and thus it came quite naturally to shift with my right hand when I came to the States even having grown up in a RHD world!

 

[DrEntropy]

Driving an automatic trans car is scary to me.

I'll say again: If we were to outlaw automatics and all A/C we could eliminate a WHOLE bunch of nonsense here in Florida. :smirk:

 

[Sarastro]

I have both a Smart car and a Bugeye. Man, if you're really worried about an accident in a Smart car, what in bejeezes are you doing in a Spridget? The Smart car is highly rated for accident safety--don't get suckered into this "small cars are dangerous" nonsense that Detroit has always used to get people into their bloated ocean liners.

The transmission in the Smart is an automatically controlled manual transmission, with a dry plate clutch. It does lose power when it's shifting, just like my Bugeye. It's no big deal. However, to people who never have used a manual, it's not just like an automatic transmission, so they don't like it. I too wish they had a fully manual transmission (some of the European ones do) but the manufacturers know it would never sell well in the US.

They've done a lot in the car's design that took a lot of courage: recognizing that it's a small, niche car, doing what's most sensible technically, and not trying to make it all things to all people, which would create a compromised mess. Still, you can only go so far in doing this and still have it acceptable to the average technically illiterate American. So, in this light, the transmission choice makes a lot of sense.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

So Steve,

Then you've got room in your garage to park your BE and Smart Car on the same side of the garage? Looks like an interesting little car. Just realy realy small compared to Bugsy.