Impressive, or is it a fluke?
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I would imagine the lower weight helped with less inertia transfer. Just look at Indy cars for example. They are hardly a tank and yet when they hit a wall except for the well protected cage for the driver the rest of the car absorbs the impact. As someone else mentioned that the wall appeared to be set at a angle. But not enough to significantly affect the out come.
Interesting. But I’m still hoping for fully automated cars. No steering wheels. Humans have no business pretending to know how to drive. I’d rather put my faith in a computer than a human any day. The statistics speak for themself.
Does anyone know the episode of fifth gear this was presented in? I like to have some more back story.
btw. I think too that any driver would have been very sorry. But as for the looks of the car after the crash. Impressive. Probably no sperated limbs or so.
A freind of mine recently saw one of these cars get picked up and moved over one lane by 50 MPH crosswind while crossing the American Legion Bridge near DC. Fortunately there was no resulting collision, but you will never get my freind to ride in one of these smart cars.
I’m not surprised. Do the same test with a bicycle.
Now, try a head on with an SUV, that’s a more likely scenario than a wall…
# 7 dusanmal – I loved my CRX. I was T-boned on the interstate after spinning out in standing water. A guy in a Expedition hit me at 60 mph +/- 5 mph. Took out the driver side door but did not break it’s window! When he was coming at me I had time to undo my seat belt and lean away from the driver side door and ponder the impending pain. I was not hurt in the least. The CRX body was bent so I ended up replacing the door and selling it.
As far as one of these ugly cars, I would have died of embarrassment way before hitting the wall.
Did they catch the teenager driving it, or did he run off like they always do?
The really important question is: will it blend?
(I’d like to see that one)
Now, seriously, I watched this TV show on the BBC, in normal TV def the ‘explosion’ was even more impressive. And they clearly stated nobody would survive such a crash, which was at 100 Km/h (around 60 Mpg).
Smarts are so solid Fire Departments have to use special tools to open them up in case of accident. Some people died because emergency workers only had the ‘standard’ car opener stuff…
As for people driving them fast, you’d be amazed at what we in Europe see Smarts doing on highways! They’re fast as hell (routinely overtaking me over legal speed limits, 120 Km/h), and their owners take advantage of it. Inside one doesn’t have a feel of insecurity, much the opposite, a nimble and stable car. Hence the danger.
I guess it’s kind of like riding a motorcycle. It’s fun, but with risks. If only people could be made more aware of those risks…
Miguel, they’re limited at 160KmH (not 100% sure on the figure…).
My boss has one with full extras: 1100cc turbocharged 97CV (Bhp ?) airbags, ABS, ASR auto windscreen wipers, the Works…
Still won’t go over 160…and drinks almost as much as my old 1400cc dual carb Civic (yes, no injection…)
Top Gear > Fifth Gear
And you can watch the most recent episodes of both off your favorite torrent.
#4 You wouldn’t travel at 70mph on your own in a Smart, no. However, you could easily get up to 70mph total speed as you ran into a car going the other way.
Also, yes. The people in that car wouldn’t exactly jump out and do a jig, but chances are they’d survive and make a full recovery — in the end, that’s all that matters.
Also, small has been safe for a very very long time now — it’s about time the myth about them died. That said, though, the Smart is smaller than most, so I’d still stay away…
#29 – 160 is a lot for this tiny car… And it accelerates like hell!
And your boss’ car must have cost as much as a ‘real’ car
32 Miguel:
That’s what I’ve told him…
An accident at that speed means you are going to die, regardless of the size of the car or truck you are driving. The deceleration on your internal organs will do it every time.
That said as a demonstration of the structural integrity of the Smart, it is extremely impressive.
Try a google search of the Smart Car hitting a Mercedes S-Class…
Here, IIHS side impacted a Smart:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=936
It did rather well.
Very sound little car. In most cases it will dissipate energy by sliding about, like a bar of soap. Put it between a jersey wall and a full size car where it can’t skitter off and the results would be bad.
I’ve owned a small car before, but not nearly this small. SUVs and trucks would just pull into my lane. I guess they thought in any crash it would be me that paid.
Instead of making people buy toy cars why not just stop allowing morons to buy behemoths?
#35, just did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02eghIfyHP0
Seems like a couple broken necks inside the Smart… Can you imagine going spiral at that speed???