Filed under: BMW, SMART, Lightweight, Europe/EU, North America, USA
Detroit News compares the Smart to the Isetta
As a step-up from scooters and motorcycles, microcars were a common sight in Europe shortly after World War II because many inhabitants were not able to afford larger cars and many manufacturers could not afford the research and development costs of large passenger cars. The Iso Isetta is one such microcar, originally coming from Italy. The car was also picked up by BMW and was one reason the struggling German carmaker was able to maintain a little bit of profitability. The Detroit News thinks that the Smart is a bit like those old "bubble cars", as they were known way back when. Similarities include the distinct styling, small size, small engine, two passenger arrangement and even the sliding canvas roof option. What may be more important, though, are the differences. While the old Isetta was known in Germany as a "coffin on wheels", the Smart was designed with safety in mind. Also, although a small engine is used, highway speeds are attainable in the modern microcar. Like the Isetta, the Smart gets pretty good gas mileage.
Like the old Isetta, the Smart has a "buzz" surrounding it, as mentioned in our source article. I imagine that the world will look back on the Smart in a similar way as they do now with the Isetta. The question now is whether or not the small "microcar" idea will stick here in America. The success, or lack of it, of the Smart will go a long way towards answering that question.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rgseidl 4:39PM (1/28/2008)
There have been rumors of a revival of the BMW Isetta, one of a class of cars older Germans fondly refer to as "Knutschkugel" (literally, "make-out sphere") because young lovers in the '50s and '60s couldn't afford apartments of their own before they got married. If a revamped Isetta is indeed in the offing, it will have to feature modern crash safety regs. This pretty much implies side doors:
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:GQUYCV7ufEkiqM:http://media.diariomotor.com/imagenes/isetta3.jpg
The primary market would presumably be the EU, which remains on track to impose much ambitious fleet average CO2 emissions targets much sooner than changes in the US CAFE rules will bite.
However, it's not clear if BMW will really go down the road of competing head-on against the smart, the Fiat 500 and VW's New Small Family (cp. Up! concepts). As Daimler has discovered to its cost, it is very hard for a premium manufacturer to build small cars cheaply enough to turn any profit at all, let alone achieve a corporate target of 8-10%.
Autoblog.nl claims BMW has already eliminated a number of alternatives, such as a spartan sibling of the Mini, the revival of Triumph or, the purchase of another brand. If true, that's a shame - buying Loremo might have made sense.
http://www.autoblog.nl/archive/2008/01/21/bmw-heeft-een-groen-merk-nodig
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p.Fezziwig 3:05PM (2/12/2008)
The Smart deisels can get an amazing 75mpg !
After being introduced in Canada waiting lists to buy them reached 6-12 months as they appeared to surplant the VW Beetle as the coolest car around. Get ready for a Smart invasion USA. Staff, Green Cars Now, http://www.greencarsnow.com
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