Smart car crash test

[reagirl4505]

I drive a 2009 Smart Car. Last year, I was stopped at a red light when a standard truck hit me going over 30 mph. I was shot across the intersection until my car came to a stop. My car was DRIVABLE, my back was slightly bruised, but the truck was TOTALED. How about that?

[frank8907]

this car is a death trap, the side impact test was at 30mph try that at a normal speed of 55mph good luck...

[highvoltagerocker95]

Now for a coal drag at 20mph

[donnyosmand86]

this car is not safe at all. my friend has a smart car and they got hurt really bad in the crash. :( but if there that small ur going to die if u get in a crash with a van or something like that

[Shara7]

EVERY Volkswagen I've owned gets better mileage than the Smart Car. Smart cars are such a joke.

[pypsys]

А чё прикольная машинка

[Bonni101]

I have a smartcar and love it, I have driven it Vermont to Florida with no problems .

[TheDudleyheathens]

americans dont know shit about smarts

[bronz3321]

Unfortunately, kinetic energy plays a part on the road. And because the smart is so light, and bears the brute energy of large vehicles. if you google "smart cart crash" you'll see what I mean.

[NewYorkCityBoy123]

I hate the IIHS .. Like literally do you obviously think cars crash into barriers ? Get a open interstate, let the car be traveling about 70, get about 4 cars around it, makes the " Smart " lose control and start flipping and hit a tree. THAT IS HOW REAL CRASHES ARE. And this crash test that you have seen above is just going only 40. Imagine if it were going 60.

[1986z28camaro]

just my 2 cents on the matter

[1986z28camaro]

ok mrscrewloose so what im thinking here is alright the truck folding up like an accordion slows the impact down right cause the strong roll cage that smartcar has doesnt have as much momentum once it is done folding through all that steel but imo "its not the fall that kills people its the sudden stop at the end" so you have no real space to slow down impact in the smartcar so if you were to crash it would it not be more force on your body over a shorter period so the rollcage is not so great

[gabe2304]

Hey myfartsdontstink1 I'm just saying I have seen that car at numerous car shows.Dude,yeah it may get good gas milege but if you think about if your drivin' on the freeway and a car [truck,van,etc.] you would get seriously injured

[gabe2304]

this thing is made of plastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[myfartsdontstink1]

@gabe2304

What's your point?

I can change the body panels myself for $500-$1000 in 2 hours! If I'm in an accident I can order a body panel really cheap. That plus it's excellent safety record make my full coverage insurance very low!!!

[warset]

those crash tests are excatly realistic

cuz the "wall" they used is basically "indestructable" and unmoved, thus, all crashing force are being "rebounced" back to the car

so ineffect, its same as the same 2 cars crashing against eachother

when u see a mini cooper or smart's crashing test, the test really shows wut happens if A MINI COOPER CRASH INTO A MINI COOPER at half of the test speed

however in reality, cars dont often crash into another identical car

[warset]

@warset

thats why big cars tend to look badly in those tests, cuz it ineffect, shows wut happen if 2 same big cars crash into eachother (and 2 bigger car crash is usually more severe than 2 small cars crash)

but the result changes dramatically in real world when a big car crashes a smaller car, as the momentum from the bigger car will carry on, which protects the bigger car and destroys the smaller car

to demonstrate this effect, you can refer to the accord vs fit test;

[warset]

@warset

both of them did great against the wall, but fit becomes a death trap vs accord and accord's result is basically unchanged

as goes for mercedes vs smart and camry vs yaris tests

[MrScrewloose22]

@warset

Absolutely false!

Real World accidents prove the smart car to be the safest small car made!

Proof is at safeandsmartdotcom.

65mph head-on into a stopped truck- Karen WALKS AWAY with just a busted wrist!

Or- F150 doing 45mph T-bones a smart car. Truck is TOTALED.. folds like an accordion against the smart's strong roll cage. People in Smart car are just severely bruised!

Run a report at the NHTSA site for more proof!

[Allante715]

@MrScrewloose22

Well there is a real non-biased website. Cough.Cough.

[myfartsdontstink1]

@Allante715

That's a nonsensical remark.

It's simply a posting of letters from smart car owners who were so impressed by how well their cars protected them in accidents that they told the manufacturer!

NO "BIAS" AT ALL!

JUST INDISPUTABLE FACTS!

[Allante715]

@myfartsdontstink1

So somehow a website devoted to the 10 people that were involved in an accident is somehow an indisputable fact, a capitalized one at that! Doubtful at best. I probably can find 10 people who swear Estonia is a ham sandwich not a country. You must rely on science and testing not the opinion of a handful of people.

[bluepantherofdeath]

@Allante715

i read your comment then i lol'd yeah sarcasm there bud

[onabreeze]

@MrScrewloose22 bollocks!! i seen a guy sliced in half in one of these when he hit the back of a truck so don t bullshit nieve people, you probably sell them for a living and only care about profits, fuck this car its a joke . there isnt anything smart about these cars. See when you hit anything higher than bonnet your dead fact! sliced and diced death traps.

[Aniihya]

@onabreeze I doubt it was a smart car. Had an accident in a smart on the German highway at 85 mph/140 kmh. I only broke a finger and had some bad bruises.

[onabreeze]

@Aniihya No it was smart car fact it was lethal in hitting the back end of a truck because the window gave way and tore the roof of the so called smart car and slicing ther mans body of his legs smart cars arent smart at all fact.

[Aniihya]

@onabreeze It is probably not smart in the US where everyone cant drive well with their 5 ton hummers and suvs. But here in Germany, no one has died in a Smart car. We also have only half as many accidents as Americans because we actually have to go to a driving school. So Germans are good drivers. The Americans from Ramstein Air Base always complain about how hard it is to drive over here or even to drive 120 mph on the autobahn (its legal here) and that with stick shift!

[pf126p]

@onabreeze Um. That would have happened to ANY car. Try the same thing in a Subaru or Escort and get the same result. In fact, those cars' structures would probably give way sooner. Nice try though. ;)

[onabreeze]

@pf126p Well of course theres worse, i never said theres not but these are letha,l i know because ive seen the damage they cause i would never buy a smal car like this unless unless i had a death wish . anyway this subject is dead as are the people who crash in them. Im just shareing my opinion and talking straight unlike the smart car salesman lol.

[pf126p]

@onabreeze Opinions are fine but empirical evidence (such as crash tests) is much more meaningful. All salespeople push their product. That's kind of their shtick.

[pf126p]

@MrScrewloose22 C'mon, don't screw up a perfectly good hate with proof or facts!

[GifsPicture]

@MrScrewloose22 18-wheeler, not so smart. SO STFU>>>

[TylerCiervo]

@MrScrewloose22 An F-150 is a bitch truck. Lets see a smart car take on my F=350 Turbo Diesel or my 2500HD full size Silverado complete with a solid steel winch bumper. Oh, did I mention I eat gas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? mmmmm <3

[pattycarljackson]

@MrScrewloose22 but as the guy said when the car rebounded violentely in real world crashes if your on a buisy road or highway and you get into an accidrnt sometime other people cant stop fast enough and the car can get hit a few times i saw it and the passenger was thrown from the car and driver was pinned in the car cause it got hit so much

[goregore82]

@MrScrewloose22 of course these stories all come from a biased source. Also when you die in a smart car accident you can't post your story on a web site. Yes it is also true there are other cars out there that get the same if not better gas mileage.

[hearsedriver1968]

@MrScrewloose22 As a crash investigator, you should really consider your claims. I have in my files no less than 5 cases involving these "toys of the road". Each was a fatal. Three involved midsize vehicals,(Camery), one with a Ford SUV, and one with an MCI Motorbus, of which, thankfully, the operator did not try to swerve, thus endangering the 47 passengers aboard. The driver of the Smart was attempting to operate on snow. Bad Idea, for a bad car.

[FMXndMXismylife]

@MrScrewloose22 you are stupid the car may stay in tacted but look at picture of peoples body from inside the car, because the car does not give as easily wayyyyy more force on your body resulting in broken bones and internal bleeding.

[phil8422]

@MrScrewloose22 ABSOLUTELY FALSE! have you ever been to an accident like that? tell you what, if you spend your time on the internet looking for good crash scenarios for smart car youll find them... but in REAL life they suck... and most "small" cars are pieces of shit, its like wining the special Olympics, yeah the smart car is safer... but its still a death trap... they paint the car red inside

[counterclockwise123]

@MrScrewloose22 That is bullshit. Any normal sized car would push the "Smart" out of the way like a toy.

[morri57]

hows your legs doin

[jamiesmith195]

your dead in all crashes.

[heyzelisawesome]

ok... i want a safe car but those smartcars are adorable!!!

[hellfire0990]

yeeeee ha lets get some trucks mudda fucka

[eikichi2009]

Dr. Genius' comments appear as logical constructions but they aren't really; perhaps in the short term( think GM) his arguments have some merit, but in the long term his arguments are nonsensical as oil supplies are finite( as well as the biosphere's tolerance of greenhouse gases). Moreover one has to question the wisdom of a selfish philosophy; history has always shown that selfish policies have never been indefinitely sustainable. Keep living in your dreamland Dr. Genius.

[Lutris]

No crumple zone means no energy dissipation, which means more energy put into the occupants. Sure, the car's all nice and rigid and in one piece, but it's tumbled down the road and you've got a severed aorta.

At least they're easy to hose down and refurbish.

[TheDman52]

it is still a lunch box and you still have to worry about a fly hitting the windshield and killing you

[voyce0reezon]

if you bump a wall, big fucking deal, they advertise the car with an elephant on the roof...great, that happens all the time. You drive one of these pieces of shit into my SUV, you lose everytime, every senario. You're a little safer than a guy on a moped

[videoCWK]

I was disappointed at the end, he sounds to be in favor of the more efficient cars until then. The fact is, no one would need to get SUVs for "protection" if no one bought them.

[fernblatt]

Another comment about safety - have any of you seen any crash reports of vans or of any size cab-over-engine vehicle, including semi tractors? Any "cab forward" vehicle is most likely to have LESS "crunch space" in the front than even one of these. Of course, here in the US, trucks are exempt from the same crash safety requirements that cars must meet, so you'd be hard pressed to find one as easily as a report on any car.

[fernblatt]

Some of the same folks that diss the smart seem to be motorcycle riders too. Going round a curve facing a semi, I'd much rather be in that car than on my MotoGuzzi. If I were to lay down that heavy bike at any speed, I'm gonna grind up the leg on the pavement side. At least the Smart has a roll cage. No matter what you're in, you're going to get hurt and/or dead coming to a sudden stop at 70 MPH! I think we all (me included) watch too much NASCAR, they make crashes look easy.

[fernblatt]

What a shame the US version of the fortwo gets about half the fuel economy than the versions sold everywhere else in the world. The Canadian version with the diesel engine, for example, gives me about 70 mpg. 30-42 mpg or what have you is a joke for a car this size, my elderly 1985 300TD wagon gets 34 on the freeway, averages between 27 and 30 in town. The US car makers need to catch up with the rest of the free world mileage-wise, like detroit can't figure out why folks won't buy it's cars.

[iKANDY54]

A fender bender would serve you no justice with a month in the hospital, I bet if you got into an accident in one of these, you'd be a vegetable. and if you hit anything going faster than 30 mph you'd die.

[justinaurelius]

This car would be fine in the city - but not in the US interstates.

[radioguy95]

I would love to take one of these out and run it without oil, just to listen to the little motor (scream) before it finally throws a rod. After that, hang it by a crane face down 1000 above a concrete slab and watch what REALLY happens while all the windows explode and the front end smashes in.

This car SUCKS! Keep it in Germany.

[raiderz111]

yea id get a 3rd generation prius over the smart...not that i hate small cars (ive been wanting a fiat 500 abarth for soo long lol)

but being a driver of a pickup, id say anyone with a smart car colliding head on with a truck like mine wouldnt too so good.

[TheFireball100]

I still aint gonna ride in one.

[teroxs]

bigger cars might be safer but more exspensive

[pancakewafflebacon]

@teroxs smart cars start at $17000 USD. you can easily get a 1-2 year old SUV for that much or less

[MrScrewloose22]

@pancakewafflebacon

Get your facts correct B4 posting ignorant comments!

The smart car starts at $12K and goes to $17K for the well-equipped convertible!

[pancakewafflebacon]

@MrScrewloose22 sorry my numbers were wrong, but this car is still ridiculously expensive for how small and dangerous it is. $12000 is just ridiculous

[ruapka]

looks pretty good.

[HSHSBstroker]

no thanx, i think i'll walk

[Nomasain]

It's safer than a motorbike, but the short nose makes the occupants decelerate twice as fast when hitting a tree, in comparison to a car with a 2 meter crumple zone.

This makes the 3rd collision (internal organs bouncing inside the body) more lethal.

[ZX2ManDave]

Dont be fooled by these controlled collision tests. The insurance industry of America released a report today saying these cars are not safe at all.

"In the fortwo collision, the institute said the Smart, which weighs 1,808 lbs, went airborne and turned around 450 degrees after striking a Mercedes. There was extensive damage to the fortwo's interior and the Smart driver could have faced extensive injuries to the head and legs. There was little damage to the front seat area of the C Class."

[ZX2ManDave]

This can be found in a article posted today by the Associated Press titled

"Small cars get poor marks in collision tests"'

These controlled tests shown in this video where they slam a car into a wall at a perfect angle while attached to a track do not in any way match a real world crash you will encounter on the highway.

[Hoboceratops]

So it's an arms race to see who gets the biggest "safest" vehicle. Just what we need more of, middle aged moms in tanks yakking on cell phones because they think nothing can hurt them.

Small passenger cars and Light trucks SUVs have the same number of occupant deaths per million miles travelled. That's it. That's all you need to know. The only thing that driving an SUV will do for you is make it easier to kill peds and easier to die in a solo crash, which is what most crashes are.

[ZX2ManDave]

Im not against small cars. I drive a small car, a Ford ZX2. But-there comes a point where one can get too small-to the point of risking personal safety and the Smart car is a perfect example of that. These cars are being boasted and promoted as being as safe as a larger vehicle when they just are not. Watch the video closely, the airbag fails to keep the dummy from striking his head against the dash, the car jumps in the air and does a complete turn around.

[rickrolled09]

In the USA this car is no good they drive at how ever long the petrol will run out and they drive SUV's. In England its perfect we drive at a sensible speeds like 30 mph which can even be survible for a pedestrain crash and drive cars with energy absorbing points. So good for UK rubbish for the USA

[dodge69874]

Alright. I agree.

[DrCadillacV]

You have a miniscule little isalnd to get around. America is 3.97 million square miles, and not all of it is cute little devonshire lane ways. Most of it is Interstates, highways, and unpaved county roads. Furthermore we have more stuff to carry like our families, horse trailers, boats, luggage, or just whatever the hell we want. And besides we are the consumer's country, and the industrial hub of the world we have to get our stuff where we're going. We have no use for euro boxes, or shit cans.

[videoCWK]

And that is why people from other countries don't like Americans. Go back and read that and tell me it doesn't convey the "I don't give a fuck about anyone but myself" stereotype that we're so often stuck with.

By the way, SUVs make a good statement about the driver's support for the oil companies and their respective countries. Where do you think all that gas they use comes from?

[DrCadillacV]

I did re-read it, and make no appology. That is the American way. I'm not trying to be rude directly to you, however, in America everything is bigger, better, louder, and just American. I'm not saying its right or wrong, though i am partial to it. But its simply the National Identity, we don't mind fucking with other countries to take their oil. So what if the president goosed the queen...it was probably a good cheap thrill for her also ;), my point is America has its own way of doing EVERYTHING

[videoCWK]

I know it's the American way, but that doesn't mean it's good. I live in the US too and I'm not happy with our image.

And "it's own way of doing EVERYTHING" has lead us deep into some crap. Specifically with SUVs. Look at California. Tons of people drive SUVs there just because they want a car that's bigger than their neighbor's and now California's kids are growing up with permanent lung deformations. Why do they deserve that any more than the rest of us?

[DrCadillacV]

Oh PLEASE!!! Permanent Lung Deformation due to SUV's?!?! show me your cited information before you make a rediculous claim like that. Abosulte ludicrous left wing BULLSHIT. Now, if you want to argue that it's due to smog, that's one thing, because even your precious little prius and smart contribute to smog. Its simply the law of large numbers in a condensed location ESPECIALLY L.A. where the winds stay stagnant above the city. Nice try but that was an epic fail!

[videoCWK]

I heard it in the documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car," so I'm just relaying the information. And I'm aware that my "precious" Prius contributes to smog, that's a given. However, it contributes far less and a lot of people who drive SUVs don't need them for anything that the Prius can't do.

[DrCadillacV]

Well you know, one of the great things about living in this country is you have the freedom of CHOICE. Meaning you can drive whatever makes you happy. The private sector will react appropriately to the concerns of their customers'. If they want cleaner vehicles, then they'll build cleaner vehicles or pioneer the technology to make them even more efficient. The answer isn't going small, the answer is in going big and discovering new roads to a more efficient country and countrymen!

[videoCWK]

No, the answer to building cleaner vehicles is going small. Which isn't even necessarily true. There are hybrid SUVs now that get pretty decent mileage for their size, and for people who don't need those there's still plenty of functional smaller cars, both hybrid and not, that return very good mileage.

And there are lots of people who want cleaner vehicles. The reason we don't have electric cars today is because GM was making more money with the internal combustion engine.

[DrCadillacV]

well you just keep on thinking that, the rest of us here in reality are still going to be driving what we like for as long as we like. In fact I encourage limpwristed liberals like yourself to give up driving all together! The less demand we have on our oil supply the lower prices will go so the rest of can keep on driving our vehicles and having fun. I'm all for you all being martyrs in the name of something bigger than yourselves. Just keep it to yourself and stop trying to run people's lives!

[videoCWK]

Tell me, does it make sense for someone defending SUVs to say that others should stop driving to lower demand on oil?

[DrCadillacV]

Clearly you are an idiot. If you read what I wrote it was about the dichotomy of a mindset that people like you are saving the planet with your hy-brid cars and hypermilers. If you want people to stop driving SUVS you have to give cause for the gas prices to rise that means upping demand. When you lower demand, by driving high mileage cars, then you give the rest of us a price break so we go back and buy what we want. I'm done talking to you. You understand nothing about the real world

[killarse]

Sure it makes sense, so there'll be more oil for him.  algore does it all the time... telling everyone else to conserve while he flies around in big jets.

[dodge69874]

No offense. But if I was to buy a two seater it would be something fast and sporty looking like a twinturbo 300ZX or a new 370Z. They get a pretty fair fuel economy.

[imac331731]

We Smart car drives buy Smart cars because we want that car. If I wanted something else then I would have purchased something else. As rickrolled09 said. We drive at sensible speeds and not everybody drives SUV's in the UK like they seem to in America. We buy Smart cars as they are city cars and speeds are never about 30mph and the occasional jaunt on the motorway. Have you even been in one?

[dodge69874]

UK and US are two different countries where the consumers have different needs. I'm sure the Smart Car fits your needs just fine but not mine. And no I've never been in one, but I have been in many other little Japanese cars and don't like the experience at all.

[videoCWK]

It's not a matter of consumers having different needs, they just want SUVs in the US because they are, for the most part, image cars. This doesn't mean that some people don't use them for what various things they're built for. But you know when you see an Escalade or a Hummer that it exists so the driver can feel more important than everyone else on the road.

[dodge69874]

Same argument could be used here. Most buy them and use them but some just buy them for image. I've seen many Hummers in the boat ramps here in Miami, they're good haulers. I drive an Explorer. It hauls my boat and holds all the tools I need to fix boats in the back. And when I need the space, I empty it out and get the whole family in there and fill the back up with luggage. Have also gone camping with it. SUVs have many uses here in America and that's why they're so popular. Work, play, etc.

[DrCadillacV]

dodge69874.

That is the reason I tried to make earlier, which is; we're not trying to look good or just be vulgar gas guzzling pricks. Its just our lifestyles, economy, and great span of country we live in requires transportation with more utility than a little transportation pod. Plus, American's are wealthier, we do more shit with our lives then commute to work everyday then just stay home, BULLSHIT, we explore and DRIVE and roam where we please! The only people who understand are Americans!

[dodge69874]

As well as it does with a low, small object. I would like to see how safe you feel when crashing into one of the many raised pick-ups or trailer hauling trucks found all over U.S. streets and highways.

[9c19c3]

I will never let my kids drive a car this small.

Your internal organs will be destroyed from the g force.

No amount of air bags can help that little car. Lets not go into the suv thing because if you crash 2 smarts together at 45 mph head on or even off set, I'd bet neither diver would live.

We are about 10-15+ years away till they make a better a better system that the air bag....

[nick8623117]

I really like everything about this car. But as CG0R3 had said. It's not "girlfriend friendly". But I would get it if I had the money :)

[CG0R3]

If you feel like being the Rc cars from the 90's that can do front flips then get this car. but goodluck getting a good date.

[LargeMaster9999]

they make it look like its the KING of saftey ness. its really not

[landstrasse36]

Size doesnt matter

[Smart4two]

Safe car!