smart roadster

guy on astro forum in england posted pics of what he uses his van to tow:

It actually makes sense. I love the smart roadster, but wiki says it was canceled for reliability issues. Why not use the small, lightweight body for something and toss out the unreliable bits.

As I recall, the roadster had transmission issues. I believe the tranny was poorly designed. Top Gear did a good segment on the Smart roadster, and they talked about these issues. Still they really liked the roadster and called it the spiritual successor to the bugeye sprite. I think the Smart company changed hands not long before car was introduced to the US, and I think the new owners killed the roadster. Another true automotive shame...

-chris r.

intrepid wrote: As I recall, the roadster had transmission issues. I believe the tranny was poorly designed. Top Gear did a good segment on the Smart roadster, and they talked about these issues. Still they really liked the roadster and called it the spiritual successor to the bugeye sprite. I think the Smart company changed hands not long before car was introduced to the US, and I think the new owners killed the roadster. Another true automotive shame... -chris r.

Smart is and always has been owned by Mercedes so it didn't change hands. The truth was the roadster didn't sell well in europe (no doubt due to the reliability issues) so they killed it. The company has struggled to be profitable on just their bread and butter for two model so any additional models we only hurting the bottom line if they weren't performing.

I think the roadster would sell better here than the for2

mad_machine wrote: I think the roadster would sell better to me than the for2

FTFY

The Smart Roadster has the same drivetrain as the regular Smart; I'm not sure of any additional reliability issues in the drivetrain. IIRC they had a bunch of issues with water leakage etc...

They pretty much didn't sell until Smart announced that they were pulling the plug on the model. Keep in mind that the size ration between the Smart Roadster and a "normal" car in Europe is roughly the same as between a Miata and a normal car/truck/SUV over here - I think that might have had something to do with the lack of sales. Oh, and everybody seems to complain about the gearboxes.

4cylndrfury wrote:

mad_machine wrote: I think the roadster would sell better to everybody I know than the for2

FTFY

re-FTFY.

Anybody I know who's aware of it thinks the roadster looks great. My parents saw one in Germany and LOVED it. They didn't know what it was, but took a photo to show me the awesome small car they had found. There's a high school student who works in my lab who says that she will someday import one. Everybody I've shown a picture to oohs and aahs over it.

The company would have been better fixing that model's issues and selling it stateside....

Holy Cr@@! Was just discussing these with a friend as my wife and I are picking up her new 2012 fortwo on Monday to replace her 08. I would like a roadster. And to the haters. Drive a smart. Properly. Use the gearbox as it was intended. Shift for yourself. It moves off the line "smartly" (Sorry). No, it won't win any drag races but is as fun as an 1800lb car with 70 horsepower can be. The key is to lift lightly on the shifts. Just wish the stability control gave a little room for fun.