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MB Fortwo and A Class



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 16th 04, 01:26 AM
aniram
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Default MB Fortwo and A Class

MB is going to introduce "Fortwo" smart car to Canada. I wonder how
well this small car will be accepted there. Will it physically be
smaller than Chev Aveo, Toyota Echo Hatch Back, Suzuki Swift or Geo
Metro?
Looking at the "ugly" model (although I am sure lots of others can say
that it is cute - beauty is in the eye of the beholder), how stable is
this car against rollover? I heard it has outstanding mileage.
It looks more like cars to be used in a City where within its limit,
the SUV, trucks and big guzzler cars are banned.
Perhaps it is better fit for European cities (or even Asian cities)
where there are lots of those tiny cars around.
In North America wouldn't such a car be dangerous to its driver? Will
it be categorized as "motorcycle"? How's this car compared to Steve
Urkel's tiny two seater car in the TV comedy series - Family Matters
?.
I still wonder why MB never introduces its Class A to the North
American market. Is it because of safety concerns, or for protecting
the MB image for expensive cars?
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  #2  
Old February 16th 04, 03:53 AM
Miro
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Default


"aniram" > wrote in message
om...
> MB is going to introduce "Fortwo" smart car to Canada. I wonder how
> well this small car will be accepted there. Will it physically be
> smaller than Chev Aveo, Toyota Echo Hatch Back, Suzuki Swift or Geo
> Metro?
> Looking at the "ugly" model (although I am sure lots of others can say
> that it is cute - beauty is in the eye of the beholder), how stable is
> this car against rollover? I heard it has outstanding mileage.
> It looks more like cars to be used in a City where within its limit,
> the SUV, trucks and big guzzler cars are banned.
> Perhaps it is better fit for European cities (or even Asian cities)
> where there are lots of those tiny cars around.
> In North America wouldn't such a car be dangerous to its driver? Will
> it be categorized as "motorcycle"? How's this car compared to Steve
> Urkel's tiny two seater car in the TV comedy series - Family Matters
> ?.
> I still wonder why MB never introduces its Class A to the North
> American market. Is it because of safety concerns, or for protecting
> the MB image for expensive cars?


Think of it this way. Where is the crumple zone ?


  #3  
Old February 16th 04, 10:30 AM
Frank Kemper
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Default

(aniram) haute in die Tasten:

> I still wonder why MB never introduces its Class A to the North
> American market. Is it because of safety concerns, or for protecting
> the MB image for expensive cars?
>


The smart fortwo (it is a different brand) has a tridion safety cell,
which makes the car at least as safe as any other small car, if not
safer. I have seen a crash test between a W140 s-class and a smart
fortwo, and the smart passengers survived (okay, with injuries). Safety
is not a concern with that car. This fact may be hard to believe in a
country where the people buy huge SUVs, because they feel safe. Actually
most SUVs are quite unsafe.

IMHO DC does not market both subcompact cars (smart fortwo and Mercedes A
Class) in the US because their outstanding feature is one, which is not
very interesting in the US - their shortness. The feature of being less
than 10 feet long is extremely useful in Paris, Rome or Munich, but it is
completely neglectable in Kentucky. On the other hand these cars lack
features like huge engines with much oomph. So I think DC did not see a
big marketing potential for these cars in the US. At the moment DC is
launching the new smart forfour, it is a 4 door subcompact, a joint
venture with Mitsubishi. AFAIK they plan to make a small all terrain
vehicle out of this concept, called smart fourbyfour. This car is bound
to be sold in the US also. The current A class (which actually is rather
mediocre) is at the end of its life span. The next generatio will be
bigger and available as Coupé and as SUV. AFAIK DC plans to sell these in
the US also.

Frank

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  #4  
Old February 16th 04, 02:59 PM
aniram
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Default

I must say that you hit it on the spot!
I wonder if the safety people at Daimler Chrysler think about it? I
must admit, that such tiny cars are abundant in mid City streets in
Europe : Rome,Amsterdam,Paris etc. Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot build those
tiny 500-750cc cars. Does it mean that there are more fatal accidents
in those cities?
Perhaps they do very useful if they can only be used within the city
limits, and no other big cars are allowed within the limits. I may
think that this is the whole idea/concept of "City cars". In North
America,however, such a concept will not be considered very seriously.
Unless if polution becomes so bad in some metropolitan areas (NYC,
LA,Chicago, etc)and people can't stand with too many SUVs and minivans
anymore.
However, I believe that this car can travel up to 120 mph! No
accident is small when you travel that fast, even among tiny cars.

" Miro" > wrote in message . au>...
> "aniram" > wrote in message
> om...
> > MB is going to introduce "Fortwo" smart car to Canada. I wonder how
> > well this small car will be accepted there. Will it physically be
> > smaller than Chev Aveo, Toyota Echo Hatch Back, Suzuki Swift or Geo
> > Metro?
> > Looking at the "ugly" model (although I am sure lots of others can say
> > that it is cute - beauty is in the eye of the beholder), how stable is
> > this car against rollover? I heard it has outstanding mileage.
> > It looks more like cars to be used in a City where within its limit,
> > the SUV, trucks and big guzzler cars are banned.
> > Perhaps it is better fit for European cities (or even Asian cities)
> > where there are lots of those tiny cars around.
> > In North America wouldn't such a car be dangerous to its driver? Will
> > it be categorized as "motorcycle"? How's this car compared to Steve
> > Urkel's tiny two seater car in the TV comedy series - Family Matters
> > ?.
> > I still wonder why MB never introduces its Class A to the North
> > American market. Is it because of safety concerns, or for protecting
> > the MB image for expensive cars?

>
> Think of it this way. Where is the crumple zone ?

 




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