Re: OT, sort of: French cars at Vancouver Auto Show
From: Bob Bruce (bobbruce@mts.net)
Date: Tue 30 Mar 2004 - 00:14:37 EST
I assume this what you are talking about:
http://www.thesmart.co.uk/
----- Original Message -----
From: coupe404
To: peugeot-L@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 10:21 PM
Subject: [Peugeot-L] OT, sort of: French cars at Vancouver Auto Show
I've mentioned this before, but the smart car is about to be
unleashed in Canada. We were promised that they'd be here sometime
soon....way back in the summer of 2002 when I first drove a pair of
them here on Vancouver Island. Well finally Mercedes-Benz Canada has
got Transport Canada approval for the cdi (direct injection common-
rail Diesel) version of the smart and we are told that by October of
this year the first deliveries should begin.
The smart is made in France, and of course it says so on the bulkhead
next to the engine cover (it's a rear engined car).
Transport Canada showed the actual crash test video of the smart car
that Mercedes-Benz Canada used to certify the smart. They also had
other interesting video clips of the smart on ice, and more. They
also had a VW Lupo TDI on display, but VW will not be bringing that
super-economical car to Canada or the USA.
Without exaggeration I can say that the smart was the hit of this car
show, just crawling with people, much moreso than the Mustang show
car, Maybach or latest Mega-SUV from Nissan et al.
I am again tempted by a smart cabriolet. They are very large inside
and quite safe for such a small car. Plus they all have ABS (oh no
not that debate again), ESP, Brake Assist, and all the other
variations of electronic kit from Mercedes models, quite posh for a
puddle jumper.
The kicker is the fuel economy, which puts a Prius to shame (mind you
a Prius can hold 5 people, provided the three in the back seat have
been decapitated) and measures up really well against the Honda
Insight. The smart has a higher funk factor though.
Official Transport Canada figures have not been released yet, but
based upon the EU cycle, I'd predict about 3 L/100 km (call it ~80
MPG US) on the highway and not much worse than that in the city.
Being a modern direct injection engine (800 cc, turbo), there's none
of the soot and few particulates to contend with. The main drawback
is the lack of speed, and the Canadian version is being limited to
120 km/h for some reason (the EU version is limited to 135).
A cabriolet will set you back around $19500 CDN (a bit under $15 K
US) and the glass-top will be about $16000 CDN (~12 K US). Not super
cheap, but they're well equipped and kind of fun to drive (and look
at).
Too bad, the USA will not be getting them, because according to
smart, Americans do not like small cars. Hmmmm, where have I heard
that before....? Ahh yes, our old friends Peugeot ;-)
So the first smart in the USA (2006) will be a SUV with a V6, hardly
what I'd call smart.
Mike Tippett
404 Coupé Injection
M-B C 230 K
405
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