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

What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8564 messages,  Last post on Oct 23, 2009 at 10:37 AM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

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

#6435 of 8564 Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [tiff_c] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Dec 06, 2007 (10:04 am)
Replying to: tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 10:00 am) Again, SMART is primarily a dedicated city car. When it snows, you park it for a couple days, just like you would a ZENN or a motor scooter. It's a vehicle designed for a very specific purpose and once outside its design parameters, its shortcomings begin to show. Ditto for a Ferrari in bumper to bumper traffic all day. Wrong car for the conditions, so I don't think the snow thing is a fair criticism. Replies to this message: tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 10:17 am) dromedarius (Dec 06, 2007 11:33 am) bumpy (Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am) snakeweasel (Dec 06, 2007 4:04 pm) and 45 more... tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 11:24 pm)
#6436 of 8564 Re: Interesting Discussion! [lilengineerboy] by jlawrence01 Dec 06, 2007 (10:12 am)
Replying to: lilengineerboy (Dec 06, 2007 8:52 am) The major problem with the Sprinter IMHO has been the lack of reliability. They generally rank very low among all vehicles. And their competitors - Ford and Chevy do vans very well.
#6437 of 8564 Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [Mr_Shiftright] by tiff_c Dec 06, 2007 (10:17 am)
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 06, 2007 10:04 am) Again, SMART is primarily a dedicated city car. When it snows, you park it for a couple days, just like you would a ZENN or a motor scooter. It's a vehicle designed for a very specific purpose and once outside its design parameters,   Well it sure does snow in some cites and those same people have to park their cars same as before. The Smart will fail unless they can sort out basic issues. I hope it succeeds but lots of congested cities get snow and those people who can't drive their one and only car in the snow will not buy a Smart. Maybe they need an AWD model? But it's a very fair thing to compare to unless you only sell in Florida and Kalifornia. Replies to this message: dromedarius (Dec 06, 2007 11:33 am) bumpy (Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am) snakeweasel (Dec 06, 2007 4:04 pm) Mr_Shiftright (Dec 06, 2007 4:38 pm) and 44 more... tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 11:24 pm)
#6438 of 8564 Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [tiff_c] by dromedarius Dec 06, 2007 (11:33 am)
Replying to: tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 10:17 am) The whole concept doesn't make sense to me. It's almost as expensive as a Fit or Yaris and doesn't have near the interior space w/little to no mileage improvements. If Honda or Toyota had made this car I can't imagine it being so limited. It seems the designers got to consumed w/the cutesy concept and forgot this car has to work in the real world. In any case, this car's world is VERY small... Replies to this message: bumpy (Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am) snakeweasel (Dec 06, 2007 4:04 pm) Mr_Shiftright (Dec 06, 2007 4:38 pm) snakeweasel (Dec 06, 2007 6:22 pm) and 43 more... tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 11:24 pm)
#6439 of 8564 Get your smart now by steve_ HOST Dec 06, 2007 (11:34 am)
Some dealer here in Boise is selling a last year's Smart imported by Zap with low, low miles on it for $27,995. Weird link that probably won't work long.   I hope I'm not caught dead in my minivan - I'd rather die in my bed at home. The Sprinters interest me from a conversion standpoint, but they are too big for home use. My Quest barely fits in my garage as it is. Replies to this message: robertsmx (Dec 06, 2007 11:49 am) steve_ (Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am)
#6440 of 8564 Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [tiff_c] by robertsmx Dec 06, 2007 (11:48 am)
Replying to: tiff_c (Dec 06, 2007 9:47 am) 75 dealers for a niche/city vehicle doesn't sound too bad, considering that Lexus has only 180 (or so I read a while ago).   The real problem may be... is that too many?
#6441 of 8564 Re: Get your smart now [steve_] by robertsmx Dec 06, 2007 (11:49 am)
Replying to: steve_ (Dec 06, 2007 11:34 am) That is quite an "MB S-Class" for $279,999. Replies to this message: steve_ (Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am)
#6442 of 8564 Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [dromedarius] by bumpy Dec 06, 2007 (11:51 am)
Replying to: dromedarius (Dec 06, 2007 11:33 am) The whole concept doesn't make sense to me.   The real-world mileage is about 15-20% better, it's a quarter-ton lighter, and it's RWD.
#6443 of 8564 Re: Get your smart now [robertsmx] by steve_ HOST Dec 06, 2007 (11:51 am)
Replying to: robertsmx (Dec 06, 2007 11:49 am) Just a "minor" typo but the $28k real asking price is pretty pie in the sky too!
#6444 of 8564 Dodge Sprinter by michaell Dec 06, 2007 (12:30 pm)
On the TLC channel there is a show entitled "Jon and Kate Plus 8", which profiles a family in PA who have a set of twins (age 7) and a set of sextuplets (age 3).   The family has two vans ... the "small" van is either a Honda Odyssey or Mazda MPV, while the "large" van is a Dodge Sprinter. It's got seats for 11 (I think), and it takes them about 30 minutes to get everyone buckled in.   There was an episode on recently where they had rear a/c added to the Sprinter ... I can't imagine having those kids in there in the heat of a PA summer without it.   I've looked on-line at the RV conversions that are done on the Sprinter chassis .. I believe the starting price is somewhere around $68K. Replies to this message: jlawrence01 (Dec 06, 2007 7:33 pm) lilengineerboy (Dec 06, 2007 7:49 pm)

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