i am thinking about driving from Atlanta to my mothers home in west palm beach
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David L. Crooks on -
Yeah, when I tried 1 pump today to fill up with premium, it kept switching to regular. I think it was trying to tell me that it did not have premium? I am glad I was paying attention and switched to another pump.
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Well, I had my smart out for my first weekend and put 250 miles on it. When I picked it up last week they told me regular gas was ok, which makes me think it was delivered with a full tank of regular. When I got down to half a tank I filled it up with premium and it really did make a difference - it felt smoother with a little more pep. I zeroed the trip meter and will keep track of the mileage at my next fill-up.
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Permalink Reply by Gary on -
All dealers use regular fuel for the first fill ;(
I know...I work for a high-end German car dealer that does, tho all of ours require premium.
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Good to see the Smart being used as it should, DRIVEN!
The impression I get from people when discussing the car is that non-Smart drivers see this as a city car only and would never expect it to be used on long motorway journeys.
I use my 451 as a business car, in addition to getting to and from the office and having fun driving at the weekends
Iv'e had the car since mid March and have aready covered 2700 faultless miles. On long motorway trips I tend to stick around 65/70 which is a reasonable speed and you don't feel like your thrashing the car
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We just picked up our all-silver Smart Cabriolet from the dealership in Laguna Niguel on Mother's Day. The next day, my husband headed for Phoenix with it. He called when he got there and said it was doing just fine. I guess when the big semi-trucks were passing by him, he had to keep it under close control due to the strong buffet, but other than that, he said it was a long, smooth trip and he was careful to vary the speed on the brand new engine. He is driving back on Thursday. I'm not sure exactly how far that is round trip, but I think it's about 750 miles. The gas savings is a real plus. Glad we got the nav system and seat upgrade as now I see we may be taking it on longer trips. The recent crash safety results of the Smart make me feel better about driving it long distances.
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Toronto, Ontario to Buffalo, NY -- took about 1.5 hours. No problems on the Burlington bridge... though there were a "touch" of cross-winds" but just a touch. :)
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Well I bet I win the award for longest road trip in a smart, did a road trip over 13 days that totaled just over 12,500km ( 7,767 miles ) yup that's longer then driving across the United States twice, but it was all part of the Cannonball Run/One Lap of America event that I took my smart "forfiveone" on.
Considering some of the other cars didn't make it over the whole journey, there was 71 of us racing across the United States, the smart did really well. I won't publicly post how fast we where driving but lets just say we found out that the worst gas millage possible in the smart is 34MPG and I can say that on the race tracks the fastest speed I know I hit was 87 MPH, as wasn't able to reach the higher speeds on the tracks, just not enough straightaways.
The smart was really nice to drive/ride in over the 13 days, even with our racing BRABUS suspension, which meant driving over a pencil was felt, the seats helped cushion bumps so while felt they weren't rough on the body.
We drove all over the US from top to bottom and back, so I had a snow storm, tornado, desert style heat and everything in between. People laughed when I said I was glad I had heated seats and I was as more then a few days they came in handy, but really glad for the AC as down in Texas and Louisiana it was hot!
I was asked by a reporter at about 9,500km into the event what I wish I had taken with me and while we did have 2 extra tires, tools, 2 large suitcase/bags, 2 GPS systems, CB radio, radar, OBD computer and all the racing gear (helmet/suit/ect) the only thing that I really wish I had was satellite radio.
As most days where driving 1,000+ km all the music I had got old quickly. It would really have been nice to have a steady stream of fresh music, while we had the radio we where traveling so quick that at best it seemed the station would last an hour before static crept in.
So my recommendation for long trips is a satellite radio, oh and you MUST have at least 1 GPS system with you, saves so much time and headaches.
I'll be posting videos and photos from our drive, as we actually recorded a lot of the 13,000km drive, so you can image the hours and hours of video I need to edit to put something useful together.
Be great to see if we can get a few more smarts into the event next year...
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the worst gas millage possible in the smart is 34MPG
I'm afraid I've got you beat there. On average my cabriolet is getting 33. I confess myself a bit disappointed there.
Glad you had a good trip.
Also, I have satellite radio in my other car and agree it is invaluable on long trips. In fact, I am closely tied in with the manufacture of the satellites used by both XM and Sirius.
geosynch
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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on -
you're carryimg around all that extra weight, my first tank was 37mpg, xm and sirius tuners?!?!? the cab is heavier! you're doing ok. rock on bro!
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It isn't the weight. Weight will make a difference getting the car moving, but once moving, aerodynamic drag is what makes the engine work (assuming a flat road).
The cabriolet is only 44 pounds heavier. I weigh 150 pounds. If it was the weight I should get the same mileage as 194 pound person in a passion.
I believe it is the difference in the aerodynamic drag. Once I get a ScanGauge, I plan on testing that theory.
Oh yes, now getting way off topic, I never thought of the Devo connection, but I see your point. Then again, I'm more of a Doors/Pink Floyd/CSNY type.
geosynch
PS -- I don't have satellite radio in the smart. I decided not worth the trouble, since I only use it for short distance driving.
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I just returned from a roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale to Maine and back (my 96 year old aunt demanded a ride in the new smart, so I drove up to Maine to see her and accommodate her request).
My car is 22 days old and has 5,200 miles on it. It ran like a top, got reasonable mileage, was very comfortable, and was a hit everywhere I went. It did very well going over the Blue Ridge Mountains (I took a circuitous route up to Maine, but did a straight I-95 run home). While there is wind buffeting, it is not too bad ... certainly not as bad as the 1966 VW Bus I had in college! And after a bit of practice, I learned to how to anticipate the buffeting from the big rigs and how to handle unexpected wind gusts with a certain degree of elegance.
I encourage all of you to try your smart on the open roads ... it is a unique and rewarding driving experience. I have attached a picture of my South Florida smartie at Nubble Light in York, Maine. - Attachments:
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DSC07805.JPG, 772 KB
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well i still love my smart it has 6500 on it my saab and jag are just parked i feel for them NOT
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