gas was 99cents a gallon,you could get a qt of Pennzoil for 99 cents,sparkplugs were less then $2 a piece,etc,layer that atop todays prices and you see we have lost ground( and you get a pretty nice 4x4 for 14K
right on sojourner,35 mpg steady state level drive is great,my old D21s avg 26 mpg.
not going to swear to it,I believe I seen one of those things back in the day,funny looking van that didn't seem as powerful as a "microbus" looked like you were inches from the windshield.I had a "Smart Car" long before the Smart Car existed.
The 1970 Subaru 360 Van. Compared to the Smart Car:
More room, rated at 66 MPGs and perfect for the urban environment..
Crash protection approaching that of an aluminum beer can...
Best price I ever paid for regular. 15 cents a gallon.
Only time I ever worked for minimum wage I was 14 Years old. At 15 I got 50% over minimum wage. Never had to apply for a Job either. If I needed one it was there.
That’s when the .9 cents mattered. Get rid of that stupid fraction thing!!! Sure, 14.9cents vs 15.9cents…. I was fooled!
The crash rating on my smart car is a little better than a beer can.I had a "Smart Car" long before the Smart Car existed.
The 1970 Subaru 360 Van. Compared to the Smart Car:
More room, rated at 66 MPGs and perfect for the urban environment..
Crash protection approaching that of an aluminum beer can...
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A buddy of mine in Atlanta Georgia was hit by lady driving a Chevy Avalanche. She was taken to the hospital with a broken leg he was walking around taking pictures.The Smart has been around a long time. I remember them in the early 2000s in Taiwan, but not a lot of them. Mercedes pricing vs a Seat, Polo, or Focus for much less. I saw one hit a small truck and it kinda bounced off like a toy
True. It was also underpowered with ONLY a v6 to power it. Few bought them. But the NAME T100 (which Ford sued to stop them from using) got people's attention and made them aware that Toyota intended to play with the big boys. So when they made a proper full sized Tundra, people were already paying attention. And the Tundra was a worthy competitor. Sales are decent but still no match for Chevy, Ford, and RAM sales. But it's enough to be a money maker for Toyota. Meanwhile, Nissan had to give up because I don't think they had the resources to keep it competitive
I believe in small cars. But the smart car just looks dangerously small compared even to things like the Fiesta, Versa and other subcompacts. It's like a street legal golf cart. It may be safer than it looks. But it looks like it'll survive an accident only because it'll be knocked out of the way like a footballA buddy of mine in Atlanta Georgia was hit by lady driving a Chevy Avalanche. She was taken to the hospital with a broken leg he was walking around taking pictures.
Second picture is of my smart car in a size comparisons to a Chevy Avalanche.
Even though most people ride alone most of the time, a two seater vehicle will always be a niche for the reasons you stated. Even single cab trucks are a niche confined mostly to fleet vehicles . For all the people claiming to want Ford to offer a single cab longer bed Maverick, if Ford actually offered one, Few people would actually buy it. In the past when single cab trucks were all that were offered, it was also common to see people including kids riding in the bed of trucks. I don't know whether it's now illegal or if people just got scared. But Crew cabs made riding in the bed unnecessary. People want to be ABLE to haul at 3 people with them even if they never actually do.
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