Original Smart Car?

[izzolaw]

Hi All,

I was on "the continent" over the Christmas/New Year holidays -- Italy and Switzerland -- and saw a decent share of 4's (none for sale, unfortunately). As my infatuation with these cars has pretty much been based on photos and reading about them, I was quite surprised to see how really SMALL they are -- in a good sense of course, as they pack all that passenger and luggage space into their diminutive size. It made my pining for one even more pronounced.

Got this from French classic car mag -- they sell some cool stuff:

http://www.autoretro38.fr/

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[paulandpat]

Most cars are getting bigger and bigger. We had use of a hire car, a Seat Ibiza which I think is considered a 'supermini' and its about the same size as our Citroen BX which in the 1990's was a medium size family car.
The original Ford Zodiacs (1955 ish) were considered a large car / 6 seater, they are actually about the same size as the present Ford Mundano , perhaps people are getting bigger!

 

[izzolaw]

I can never understand why all manufacturers seem to enlarge new versions of their small cars. Look at the original Honda Civic compared to the latest one -- the new one is bigger than the original Accord. I don't get it -- why not either keep things the same size or make it bigger from the outset? Weird. Anyway, the R4 is beautifully tiny, the way a "small" car should be!

 

[jjad]

People are getting heavier, that is true. Cars are heavier now and have thicker doors containing side-impact bars (and the window when it is wound down - what's wrong with sliding windows ).

According to Wikipedia, VW Golfs are 15" wider than the original Golf!

Some councils have been criticised for still making parking bays suitable for older cars; new cars just don't fit in them.

Tax according to weight, I say! Heavy vehicles do much more damage in crashes.

 

[Rowan]

Hi All,

I was on "the continent" over the Christmas/New Year holidays -- Italy and Switzerland -- and saw a decent share of 4's (none for sale, unfortunately). As my infatuation with these cars has pretty much been based on photos and reading about them, I was quite surprised to see how really SMALL they are -- in a good sense of course, as they pack all that passenger and luggage space into their diminutive size. It made my pining for one even more pronounced.

Got this from French classic car mag -- they sell some cool stuff:

http://www.autoretro38.fr/

Cheers,
Jeff

Hi, I have a renult 4 wich has not gon for 7 years but still has air in the tiers. it is good but needs a bit if benzin and a dusting, it is in Italy and if you whant it for nothing e-mail me on Rowan@holloway.dk have photos.
Best regards,
Rowan