Correction: This is the worst car ever
A week ago I brought you the Lexus HS 250h (by the way - what the hell is with all the H's anyway? - what do they even mean?) and told you it was the worst car ever.
I may - just may - have been wrong on that one. At the very least, I can now give you the most hated car, by its own owners:
But.. but.. it's just so darn cute! Yes. It is cute. It is also a terrible car. A recent brand survey found that out of owners in the New York City area, only 8.1% would buy another Smart ForTwo. That number goes up, somewhat, for buyers in the San Francisco area: to a still appalling 19%. (The Smart Car was initially only released in certain urban markets).
To give a sort of benchmark for these scores, I give you the worst mid-sized sedan money can buy. A car so bad that within a year the current model being released, various dealerships (including one I saw the ad for in Boston) were offering buy-one-get-one-free specials. I kid you not. Buy one, get one free, for cars. They wanted to get rid of them that badly. This car of course is the Chrysler Sebring, a car so notoriously bad that Chrysler has made a public apology for it. To read Jeremy Clarkson's review, go here, it's hilarious. That car, that utter piece of junk, actually garnered a 37% on the same survey.
In other news, 37% of Sebring owners have had their brain removed. But really - it shows that the Sebring is, roughly speaking, at least twice as popular with its owners as the Smart Car. And the best thing you can say about the Sebring is that it comes fully equipped with four doors, four wheels, and an engine. In every other respect, it is a terrible car. But apparently, much better than the Smart Car.
You see the issue with the Smart Car is... actually, I can't pick just one. Let me list them out:
1) It's tiny - cute sometimes, useful occasionally, annoyingly useless most of the time. I heard a radio ad for it talking about how it fits your "active lifestyle." What active lifestyle is that? Competitive ping-pong?
2) It's underpowered. The 70-hp, 1.0-liter three-cylinder makes highway on-ramps become Charles Manson's carnival fun ride of death
3) It gets bad gas mileage, at least for its size. It gets about 33-35mpg.. which is pathetic in an age when a 300hp Mustang gets 30mpg
4) The transmission is possibly the worst transmission of all time. It is a "manual automatic" - not in the tiptronic sense, but in the sense that to save weight and money, it is literally a manual transmission where belts and servos replace your left foot. The result? You hop along city traffic like a deranged kangaroo.
5) Price. Though it starts around $12,000, prices range up into the $20,000s, and most cost $15k-$17k. Which is simply ridiculous. For that money (15k), I could get a Hyundai Elantra, which is much bigger, better, more comfortable, more sporty, cheaper to maintain, much more practical, has much more equipment, and still gets 30mpg. And looks pretty good too.
Sorry Smart Car - I think this model may be your first, and last, sold in this country. Novelty is, well, novel, but blowing $15k just to look different and been seen? Most of the Smart Cars I have seen have been rolling advertisements, and once the novelty wears off (think New Beetle, Mini Cooper, Scion xB) those sales will fade....
(yes, that is Shaq)
I may - just may - have been wrong on that one. At the very least, I can now give you the most hated car, by its own owners:
But.. but.. it's just so darn cute! Yes. It is cute. It is also a terrible car. A recent brand survey found that out of owners in the New York City area, only 8.1% would buy another Smart ForTwo. That number goes up, somewhat, for buyers in the San Francisco area: to a still appalling 19%. (The Smart Car was initially only released in certain urban markets).
To give a sort of benchmark for these scores, I give you the worst mid-sized sedan money can buy. A car so bad that within a year the current model being released, various dealerships (including one I saw the ad for in Boston) were offering buy-one-get-one-free specials. I kid you not. Buy one, get one free, for cars. They wanted to get rid of them that badly. This car of course is the Chrysler Sebring, a car so notoriously bad that Chrysler has made a public apology for it. To read Jeremy Clarkson's review, go here, it's hilarious. That car, that utter piece of junk, actually garnered a 37% on the same survey.
In other news, 37% of Sebring owners have had their brain removed. But really - it shows that the Sebring is, roughly speaking, at least twice as popular with its owners as the Smart Car. And the best thing you can say about the Sebring is that it comes fully equipped with four doors, four wheels, and an engine. In every other respect, it is a terrible car. But apparently, much better than the Smart Car.
You see the issue with the Smart Car is... actually, I can't pick just one. Let me list them out:
1) It's tiny - cute sometimes, useful occasionally, annoyingly useless most of the time. I heard a radio ad for it talking about how it fits your "active lifestyle." What active lifestyle is that? Competitive ping-pong?
2) It's underpowered. The 70-hp, 1.0-liter three-cylinder makes highway on-ramps become Charles Manson's carnival fun ride of death
3) It gets bad gas mileage, at least for its size. It gets about 33-35mpg.. which is pathetic in an age when a 300hp Mustang gets 30mpg
4) The transmission is possibly the worst transmission of all time. It is a "manual automatic" - not in the tiptronic sense, but in the sense that to save weight and money, it is literally a manual transmission where belts and servos replace your left foot. The result? You hop along city traffic like a deranged kangaroo.
5) Price. Though it starts around $12,000, prices range up into the $20,000s, and most cost $15k-$17k. Which is simply ridiculous. For that money (15k), I could get a Hyundai Elantra, which is much bigger, better, more comfortable, more sporty, cheaper to maintain, much more practical, has much more equipment, and still gets 30mpg. And looks pretty good too.
Sorry Smart Car - I think this model may be your first, and last, sold in this country. Novelty is, well, novel, but blowing $15k just to look different and been seen? Most of the Smart Cars I have seen have been rolling advertisements, and once the novelty wears off (think New Beetle, Mini Cooper, Scion xB) those sales will fade....
(yes, that is Shaq)
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