Polypropylene smart fortwo

[saronian]

The new 2008 fortwo from smart will officially hit US dealers in a few weeks. So I thought this article on the new Daplen ED230HP thermoplastic panels was interesting. I`ve got a black one on order and it looks like the surface is still a clearcoat, so my regular detailing methods should work well.



Wonder what`s best for the large acrylic roof?



The Smart fortwo is the first commercialized car to have full body panels made from polypropylene. (http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/71805/Smartpioneersfirstfullpolypropylenebodypanels.aspx )



Any other US members reserve one of these?



Scott

[todd@bsaw]

I have no experience with it, but I know this has been recommended for that surface:



novuspolish (http://www.novuspolish.com/)



Cheers! I love the Smart vehicles. I got to drive a few earlier this year when they had a marketing team traveling the country with them. We got to wash them all, too.

[saronian]

Thanks Todd, I`ll make a note of the novuspolish. I remember trying a sample on my iPod and it was very gentle.



Washing is such a great way to get to know a car, if I had the chance to spend more time with them it would have made choosing a color combination easier.

[epbrown01]

Thanks Todd, I`ll make a note of the novuspolish. I remember trying a sample on my iPod and it was very gentle.



Washing is such a great way to get to know a car, if I had the chance to spend more time with them it would have made choosing a color combination easier.



Did you get the Smart yet? (I know the wait is often over a year) I`m picking up one today and was curious about experiences with caring for the plastic panels, as well as the Tridion cell, which I think is a powercoat. Do you just treat it like any other car?



Edit: Checking I see this poster hasn`t posted since this thread a year ago. Anyone else have thoughts/experiences with the Smart?

[Lumadar]

Have they found a way to improve the mileage to something respectable yet? I remember they took a big blow when the EPA ratings changed, and the final numbers were not even remotely impressive given the size and lack of power.



I just can`t imagine it being even close to worth it unless you live in NYC or maybe San Francisco and never take the freeway :doh

[saronian]

I`ve been driving my smart fortwo since April and I really like it. As you pointed out parking in San Francisco is not easy, but now I have a lot more spots in which to fit.



The smart`s Mitsubishi engine is sensitive to driving style, conditions and octane. Most of my driving is in stop-and-go traffic which yields the lowest MPG, about 37. Freeway driving at 70mph gets about 48mpg. I have another car, a Scion xA, which under the same conditions does about 28 and 34.



It`s not for everyone, but works perfectly for my wife and I.:xyxthumbs

[protojason]

I`d prefer the 70+ mpg diesel version...they need to bring that.



As stated before, other small cars (fit/golf/etc) even a jetta tdi gets these unleaded variant mileage numbers, and can hold a family.



-Jason



Of course, if you want to throw all conservatism to the wind, you could swap the hayabusa engine into the thing ala all those youtube videos. Sure looks like a hoot to drive that way!

[epbrown01]

I`d prefer the 70+ mpg diesel version...they need to bring that.



As stated before, other small cars (fit/golf/etc) even a jetta tdi gets these unleaded variant mileage numbers, and can hold a family.



Going by individual elements, lots of cars make more sense, but taking the entire car together, it made the best choice for me (single, urban dweller/commuter in a congested setting). I looked at the Yaris and Focus (which I`ve always liked) but in the end the ForTwo ticked the most boxes for me.



I do think way too many people buy it that would be better served with something else - the smart forums are full of people with smarts that live in the middle of nowhere.

[saronian]

...was curious about experiences with caring for the plastic panels, as well as the Tridion cell, which I think is a powercoat. Do you just treat it like any other car?



The smart fortwo has a rare combination of surfaces to care for. After testing a variety of products I`m not completely satisfied with any so for. Here`s what I`ve found.



The clear roof (a coated Makrolon AG2677) has been easy to care for. I coated it with Ultima Paint Guard Plus and it easily washes clean.



The rear "C" pillars have a small black plastic cover, as does the top of the rear hatch. The surface is between semi-gloss and gloss, it scratches easily and is hard to protect. Sealants appear too thin to protect and wax doesn`t look right.



Whether a painted or color dyed, the body panels are all clear-coated polycarbonate. The clear-coat seems soft, perhaps because of the flexibility required by the panels. That`s just a guess, but the combination has an odd reflectivity. At first I used Ultima Paint Guard Plus and the sealant looked good. My car is black on black and the color seemed deeper with the UPGP applied. Seeking some additional depth I tried some No. 845 on the panels, but it did not provide the liquid+depth look I wanted. I tried Z8 which is a favorite, and the surface was nice, but there was a slight bit of static cling added. For now I`m using UPGP topped with Meguiar`s #34. The search will continue.



Finally the Tridion cell, which is powder-coated black. It has a deeper black than the panels and reflects like paint. But the surface is fragile, it both chips and scratches easily. It seems both hard but brittle.



Please share any insights or ideas.



Scott

[epbrown01]

It`s too cold here for me to do much yet. My thoughts on the Tridion are that it`s similar to the targa roll-bar on my old 911, but I never really got good results making that look good.



For the plastic panels, I`m thinking something with strong UV protection - plastic panels seems much more prone to fade, and several people have noted that the Saturns with the same materials faded unevenly.



The lower trim I`m thinking I`ll paint black, then care for like the other surfaces.

[Envious Eric]

smart cars are not worth it IMO....getting in an accident is like signing your death warrant....just not SMART in my honest opinion....its like a street legal golf cart and shouldn`t be taken on the roads...



if you are trying to save the gas mileage, "drive less"...hybrids take over a few years to reap the benefits of the mileage savings over the cost increase to get a hybrid car vs a normal gas car, making it not worth it if you sell the car every three years on a lease.

[epbrown01]

smart cars are not worth it IMO....getting in an accident is like signing your death warrant....just not SMART in my honest opinion....its like a street legal golf cart and shouldn`t be taken on the roads...



Err, thanks for your input? :nixweiss

[gonz0]

smart cars are not worth it IMO....getting in an accident is like signing your death warrant....just not SMART in my honest opinion....its like a street legal golf cart and shouldn`t be taken on the roads...



if you are trying to save the gas mileage, "drive less"...hybrids take over a few years to reap the benefits of the mileage savings over the cost increase to get a hybrid car vs a normal gas car, making it not worth it if you sell the car every three years on a lease.



That is quite an ignorant statement. There is GREAT amount more involved in the engineering of a chassis than just sheer mass to absorb the energy of impact. There are limitations to that, but for the most part the SMART car will fair quite well and is a very safe vehicle. Those limitations are no different from those that a standard passenger car would be held to, such as impact with a semi-truck.



That said, I don`t really care for them, I think too many OTHER and more viable alternatives exist, sadly a majority of those are only available in other markets than the US. This thread isn`t about safety, preference of vehicle or deficiencies in our current market; it is about surface care for the SMART vehicles.



From what I`ve read, they use standard paint for the body panels, albeit the coating may be very soft to compensate for the flexibility of the body panels. I`d treat it like normal paint on any other car, maybe relative to the bumpers, etc on a Honda or Infiniti. I don`t really have any product recommendations, although I`d consider maybe a glaze (Megs #26) before waxing, which may add some shine. I still like Meg`s NXT 2.0, it may be just a simple OTC but it works very well on many colors and gives a good shine for little money while being decently durable. What is the condition of the paint, any micro-marring, etc?

[DaGonz]

There is a You Tube video of a Smart ForTwo hitting a concrete barrier at 70 MPH...

The passenger compartment remained basically intact.



YouTube - Smart Car Crash Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8)

[tnforever]

The commentary in one of those videos go on to say that even though the cell survives, the people inside probably wouldn`t have.



Chasis design also has its limitation in the amount of energy it can absorb. By breaking away and crushing the impact zones are designed to absorb some of the energy of a crash, and in a longer car`s case, increase the distance over which the deceleration occurs (in a crash, a distance of 1 foot versus 5 ft DOES matter).



It`s also hard to ignore the laws of physics. Just like gonzo says, in much the same way a normal car crashes into a truck, a smart car (or a lotus elise, for that matter) will have the mass disadvantage against normal cars on the road.



That said, however, pretty much any relatively inelastic crash at 60 mph will screw you up pretty badly, and for its size, the smart does the best job possible.