Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Good Insight On Fuel Savings

People who drive the SmartCar aren't always very bright. Read below to see why.

It amazes me that I had better foresight than all of the white-collars at Mercedes.

Mercedes has announced that it is cutting back their line of SmartCars. Apparently they have been losing money on the tiny car since they launched the two-seater in Canada. This is no surprise to me, since I have always questioned the Smart's introduction to Canada.

It seems Mercedes overestimated North American sales due to its popularity in Europe. But like I said, it's great for tiny countries with tiny streets and other tiny vehicles. Canada is not such a country.

For 2006, Carguide Magazine rates the SmartCar at 61 mpg city and 74 mpg highway. In the same issue, the fabulous car with technology of the future, the hybrid Honda Insight is rated at a whopping 72 mpg city and 86 mpg highway, which almost makes the Smart seem like a guzzler in comparison.

Well, not quite.

But, considering that the Insight shuts off automatically at stop lights, cutting its already phenomenally low emissions output to zero, it seems that this is truly the car that will lead us into the future..... of environmental friendliness anyway.

But you'll have to pay for the better technology.

The Insight, whose 73 horsepower and 91 lb-ft. of torque blows the Smart's 40 hp and 74 lb-ft. out of the water, lists for about $6,000 more than the "Passion", the most expensive version of the SmartCar.

The SmartCar runs on Diesel fuel here in the great white north, which is no longer the bargain it used to be. Diesel fuel is usually on par with regular grade 87 octane gasoline, however, sometimes it's even more expensive.

Which might explain why I saw a girl fill up this SmartCar with gasoline instead of Diesel last week. Oops!

7 Comments:

Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

bicycle or walk!

12:09:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Or pogo stick, or stilts!

10:13:00 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found a product which I tried to debunk, as did fox news. We both were unable to debunk it! It really works, and helps the enviroment. Go to www.4-ecorp.com/ghas for more info!

7:44:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Interesting...

12:52:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Yeah, I've been looking at the Zap website and marvelling at the "cute" electric cars on offer. I can't wait until we get these cars in Canada.

2:35:00 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fact check-Smart are no longer making the fourfour or the roadster still making the fourtwo. Fourtwo selling fine and not everyone in canada lives in the wastelands do they?

7:37:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Please double-check what I wrote: "Mercedes has announced that it is cutting back their line of SmartCars."

I am aware that the ForTwo is still selling. I specifically said they were cutting back from their line of cars.

Not sure what your "wastelands" comment meant, as I made no referal to living far from any amenities. If you're talking about city streets vs. country streets, your comment still makes no sense. Canada's streets and 99.9% of its vehicles are easily twice the size of their European equivalents.

7:51:00 PM

 

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