You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8658 messages,  Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 11:11 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

#8649 of 8658 Re: snake... [alltorque] by andre1969 Nov 27, 2009 (5:28 am)
Replying to: alltorque (Nov 27, 2009 2:54 am) That's true and here in AngloEUroland you pay for the space regardless of the vehicle size.   The Smart isn't going to do you much good in any type of metered parking, or any situation where you have parking spaces that are marked by lines. In some situations, having a Smart might even make things worse. For instance, if you parallel park in a lined space, having plenty of room on either end, someone else could come along, park way over the line. You might still have enough room to get out, but then that space would be unuseable for anything but another Smart, or maybe a motorcycle. So, not a bad thing for the Smart owner, but bad in the overall scheme of things.   However, there are a lot of places where you can parallel park at the curb, but the spaces are not marked. Often with these, people get lazy and leave too much room between themselves and the car in front or behinds, and over time as cars come and go, you end up with gaps that are unusable for the most part. But might be just big enough to get a Smart in.   And yeah, I hate that, when you see what you think is an open space, but it turns out there's some small car (not always a Smart...I've seen vans and SUVs successfully hide much larger cars) or a motorcycle pulled way up in there. If I had a small car or motorcycle, I'd think that it would be best to position it so other drivers DO see it. Otherwise you run the risk of someone just whipping into the parking spot and smacking into you. And I know from experience, that if that happens, most likely they're not going to admit their guilt and leave a note on your now-smashed parked car. Replies to this message: alltorque (Nov 29, 2009 2:42 pm) texases (Nov 29, 2009 3:06 pm)
#8650 of 8658 Re: snake... [thegraduate] by british_rover Nov 27, 2009 (6:38 am)
Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 26, 2009 7:17 pm) I did suggest that to a parking lot at the beach once with my MINI because it really doesn't take up a whole spot and they don't have defined spots in their lot anyway.   I was like hey this car doesn't take up a full spot so you shouldn't' charge me full price. They wouldn't go for it and my wife was giving me the, 'stop trying to negotiate everything,' look so I dropped it and just paid full price.
#8651 of 8658 Re: snake... [thegraduate] by snakeweasel Nov 27, 2009 (6:53 am)
Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 26, 2009 7:17 pm) There are a few places by me that have diagonal parking where they have one very last spot which is pie wedge shaped and no car can really fit into one except a Smart.
#8652 of 8658 Re: snake... [alltorque] by snakeweasel Nov 27, 2009 (6:54 am)
Replying to: alltorque (Nov 27, 2009 2:54 am) I have had that happen too, but with other small cars parked far enough into the space that you don't see them until you are right at the parking space.
#8653 of 8658 Re: snake... [thegraduate] by ateixeira Nov 27, 2009 (6:22 pm)
Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 26, 2009 7:17 pm) Do they even have a dealership in Birmingham?       No, I'm thinking urban as in big city - New York, Washington, Chicago, LA. The type of place where parking costs more than $20 per day.   My work garage has some half-sized spaces that would fit a motorcycle or a Smart, but not my Miata. They could add those spaces and mark them for Smart cars only. Replies to this message: tifighter (Nov 29, 2009 10:39 am)
#8654 of 8658 Re: snake... [ateixeira] by tifighter Nov 29, 2009 (10:39 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Nov 27, 2009 6:22 pm) Looks like a smart is 6 inches longer than a Goldwing and gets better mileage. One could make an argument that if a GW gets to ride in carpool lanes, than a smart should too? I don't know   That said, I don't think carpools probably need anymore eligibility from anything...they're already clogged with too many Prius here in SF anyhow...can't wait til they pull that eligibility.
#8655 of 8658 Re: snake... [andre1969] by alltorque Nov 29, 2009 (2:42 pm)
Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 27, 2009 5:28 am) ............you end up with gaps that are unusable for the most part. But might be just big enough to get a Smart in.   I have seen SMART's parked tail-in to the kerb, i.e. at 90deg to the kerb, when there was only "half" a space between two vehicles in un-metered parking. Technically illegal here in USSGB but can still be seen from time to time. Pick the right cars to park between and the SMART doesn't stick out at all .........although driving out of the space could be, er......interesting. Replies to this message: texases (Nov 29, 2009 3:06 pm)
#8656 of 8658 Re: snake... [alltorque] by texases Nov 29, 2009 (3:06 pm)
Replying to: alltorque (Nov 29, 2009 2:42 pm) I'd be none to happy to be wedged into my space by a 'smart' driver
#8657 of 8658 according to Autonews by nippononly Nov 29, 2009 (10:27 pm)
the Mazda2 and Fiesta are both debuting at LA, which opens on Wednesday does it? I will be on-line that day for sure, I'm very curious if there will be any additional details available.   The AN article says the Fiesta is expected to be available by summer next year. 4-door sedan and 5-door hatch. No 3-door.
#8658 of 8658 a bad collision by nippononly Nov 29, 2009 (11:11 pm)
that occurred near my place last night has provided additional evidence that it's not so simple as "big wins" in big-vs-small collisions in the real world.   In this case a Mini Cooper going well in excess of the speed limit broadsided a Nissan Quest minivan, and while the Mini's passenger compartment was completely intact, the Quest was mostly destroyed.   The results were tragic for the family occupying the Quest, so I won't go into any further details, but there are so many variables in any collision that to simply write off subcompacts because of their size is truly misguided. A well-designed subcompact can just as easily be the better place to be in a bad crash.   http://www.ktvu.com/news/21753157/detail.html

You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?