Smart Car

[Michael Chris]

I thought they were ugly. Until I saw one in person. Oh how I want one. Good fuel economy plus a pretty, small car? That would be awesome.

 

[Sledder]

I don't really care who has the "busiest" highway, but I wouldn't want to drive a Smart car anywhere near Atlanta. High density traffic that runs around 80 mph. My uncle, who lives in Houston, says he gets nervous anytime he comes to visit my parents because of that.

Well on the 401 it's normal to run at about 75mph but there are certainly many cars going 80 and higher when the traffic isn't at a standstill.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Even Aston Martin is building a tiny city-car now, looks really cute.
>>link

 

[TheLonelySquire]

I've seen 'em on the 401 through Toronto. If they can handle that, they can go pretty much anywhere.

I've driven through the great city of Toronto many times. I must disagree with you however. IMO, the Jersey Turnpike is really on a different level.

Oh, whatever... I can't let this one go. When did you drive through Toronto, two in the morning?

If you mean "weird, unintuitive interchanges" then maybe, but traffic?

I've driven on both more than once and while the Turnpike deserves it's reputation, the widest and busiest stretch of the NJ turnpike is on the 14 lane section between Exit 11 and 14, and it carries approximately 200,000 vehicles per day. The average on the turnpike is about 125,000 vehicles a day per section.

The 401 is widely considered to be North America's busiest highway, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of over 425,000 in 2004, west of the interchange with Highway 400 through downtown Toronto. It's up to 18 lanes wide. This surpasses the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles, and the freeways that run through Houston, Texas. And yes, the NJ turnpike too.

And yes, that info is all from government sources I couldn't be bothered to hot link. In any case, for the purposes of the discussion about how well a Smart car fares on a public highway I'd say either one will do.

I could be mistaken. I normally drive there on weekends if I'm going back and forth between Toronto and Buffalo during football season. My bad.

Oh, have they ever gotten that ferry going from Toronto to Rochester yet?

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

Even Aston Martin is building a tiny city-car now, looks really cute.
>>link

While I've got absolutely nothing against the Smart (except that the reaction to winds from the side is way too great on the highway), this little bugger is a travesty! Aston Martin making a smart? That simply has to be illegal. Just look at the signature front end -- it looks horrible without a hood. And don't get me started on those headlights -- they look like they've been ripped off from any other mediocre cheap urban car. Take away everything that make the Aston Martin cars so beautiful (the low angle of the front window, the big but-not-botoxed headlights, the side curves, the beautiful back, and so on... and don't forget the huge engine and it's accompanying beautiful noise! and all you're left with is a Toyota iQ with a different badge on it. Horrible.

 

[JonathonWally]

^ Indeed. Though I could swear that there is a busier highway somewhere in LA? I thought I'd read that somewhere.

The fact of the matter is the 401 is a damned intimidating highway. It's giagatic, busy, and often very, very confusing. I'm still convinced that if a Smart Car can make it through this monstrosity, it can make it through anywhere.

Eh, that looks like it would barely get the blood pumping.


You want a real adrenaline rush? Drive this at 80 mph in heavy traffic.

 

[Pingfah]

I present to you the Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham, England. And yeah, lots of us drive Smart Cars

 

[Emher]

That's even worse then the Spaghetti junction I went trough a few times when in Atlanta!

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm sure the guys who designed that monstrosity are very proud themselves and the locals have a lot of fun laughing at the out-of-towners who have no idea what to do.

 

[Pingfah]

There's even a gravel beach next to a canal underneath, an idyllic getaway for those with hypodermic proof beach towels!

 

[Michael Chris]

Those look so complicated!

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Geez, those look tame compared to LA's 4-Level interchange:

'Course, as the name states, it's 4 levels of interchange. Much fun.

 

[Pingfah]

M.C. Escher would love this stuff!

 

[Michael Chris]

Geez, those look tame compared to LA's 4-Level interchange:

'Course, as the name states, it's 4 levels of interchange. Much fun.

Looks like a less attractive version of the Big-I in Albuquerque.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Well ... seeing it from street level is something to behold. The thing is massive.

 

[Michael Chris]

Oh, I just meant the colors, but they aren't really clear from the aerial anyway. I'm sure it is way bigger!

 

[Michael Chris]

Here's a picture of the Big-I prior to the massive landscaping project:

 

[Mallory]

Someday someone should just add an off ramp that loops around and puts you back on the same highway just before where you got off it to begin with.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Just don't hit a Semi

 

[Captain Shaw]

Well, no matter how wide the streets (which is irrelevant when parallel parking anyway)

All of America might not be built for the SUV, but this sentence says a lot about the difference between America and Europe when it comes to parking your car

My road has cars parallel parked both sides. The remaining room allows one way traffic to pass, at great peril to wing mirrors. You can just barely swing out far enough to parallel park 'properly' - if someone parks anything much larger than a standard British-sized town car along there, it becomes impossible and you have to do an intricate little 6 point manoeuvre to park. That's why no-one (well no-one sensible) drives anything with any size to it in most British cities.

There was an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson tried to park an older, boat of a Jaguar in London in the middle of the day. He almost ran out of gasoline.

There was a ep where Jeremy tried to park his Mercedes-Benz Grosser and James his own Rolls-Royce Corniche and James did run out of petrol in the middle of London