How to improve the performance of a smart car....

[13aceofspades13]

Especially here in Texas. Most of it was developed in the 60's. (It was too hot down here for most people, until the home AC unit became cost effective. Once that happened people started to move here.) Since most of the infrastructure was built up then, and Texas has a lot of land. Nothing was built close together. I remember being in High School and Mom had to drive 15 miles to a grocery store. It isn't like that today, but public transportation wouldn't work there. I know I cannot get public transportation from my house to work unless I call a cab. It just doesn't exist in this small town.

this too, all we have is dial a ride, and it can get expensive at times, its just better to drive your own car... and not have to worry about the bull crap.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Actually alot of the stuff you guys say is junk.....actually makes the car safer.

ABS, airbags, traction control.....crumple zones, etc, etc.

PW, cruise, AC, PL....yes it puts the price of the car up some, but usually comes in a package on the vehicle for under $1200 extra, a small cost compared to the rest of the vehicle (other than maybe the AC tax in most states and provinces), and with the advantages of lightweight materials, the weight difference for the car isn't much, and the difference in gas consumption is negligible. Just go to a dealer and look at the cars, find a car with, and without those simple options above, with the same motor and transmission, and I bet you will find little to no difference in the EPA fuel mileage (EPA mileage doesn't take into account using AC while driving, just the added weight of the items in the car, we all know that using your AC reduces your mileage).

Complain about the options, but much the same could be said about the engines in the cars....why do we need a 600hp, gas guzzler big V8 in a Corvette, when we can have a fuel efficient V6 that still puts out over 300hp? I have a friend that has a 2010 Mustang, with the V6....305HP and still gets 35mpg, and looking at the car with the wheels, paint and stripe package he got, the only thing that gives away that it is a V6 is that it only has one tailpipe instead of 2, but despite the V6, it still goes like a bat out of hell!

As far as AC...even up here in the Great White North, you can have my AC when you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!

as i said the fancy features are good for luxury cars, as a 638hp V8 is good for a top of the line super car, i guess you make a point, but still the features consume energy and up the price of the car major.

Luxury cars? I had a 2005 Honda Civic 2dr I bought new, (far from a luxury car) PW, PL, AC, Cruise, 1.6l 4 banger, got about 45mpg. The same car without all the bells and whistles, was only about $800 cheaper, and got the same gas mileage, if you didn't use the AC, even with the AC it still got 38mpg....better than most vehicles on the road today.

As far as public transportation, here in Canada, only about 20% of the population live in the city, and within range of a bus, or train, the rest live in areas where there is no public transportation, so you have no choice but to drive.

Park and Drive? What is that? Sure the big cities like Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver have it.....but outside of that, it doesn't exist. Even then it only runs a couple of times in the morning, and couple of times at night....its just not a practical form of transportation to most.

 

[13aceofspades13]

the issue here is, people like there cars, people want there own car, beacuse they like cars, i want my own car to have, it gives me a feeling of being able to do things myself at my own convenience without having to get into a bus full of people i don't know at there own time tables. i can leave my house and get to wherever i want to go when i want with whome i want.

This is the thing... 'Want' is a key element of a consumer culture and replaced 'need' a long time ago. The problem is that not everyone can have what they want.

China wants to develop, as does India and a host of other countries, and they're not going to let a little thing like shortages in non-renewable fuels or the time taken to develop other forms of power stand in the way of that 'want'.

You may not want to travel on a bus full of strangers, you may not want to spend tax dollars improving public transportation networks or investing in the building of new ones, but what you 'want' may eventually be replaced with what you are 'able to have' or what you are 'forced to take'.

Just my opinion though.

Jingles.

true, perhaps one day the worlds economy will be so bad that will be the only way people can afford to get around is through public transportation.

however like i said, you elimiate the private automobile, you eliminate a lot of jobs, as a lot of jobs are focused on fixing, making, or making parts components and peaces for the automobile.

in addition to what your saying, some people drive when they could just WALK!!!! for example my dad driving not even a mile to get to the gas station or beer store when he could be walking a simple 15 minute walk and getting some excersize, some distances you don't need to drive, and thats the issue with this generation, a lot of the solutions could be solved buy, walking... or riding a bike...