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Date:         Sat, 5 May 2012 12:08:31 -0700
Reply-To:     Ben T <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ben T <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Smart Car Opinions
In-Reply-To:  <A83FA53B-E9E1-4BFE-A095-657DCFD7485F@dragonhome.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Take it to pmail please.

Recommended watching: 101 Gadgets That Changed The World (History Channel)

BenT Mod sent from gadget #1

On May 5, 2012, at 10:30 AM, Rowan Tipton <uther@DRAGONHOME.ORG> wrote:

> Don, > > ------------------------- RANT ON --------------------------- > > It's a bit insulting to say that Ipads and Iphones are only bought because > they are "trendy and their main advantage is as the "Latest" thing, an "in" > brand… not because they are actually better than other "units" that > perform similarly." > > I am an IT professional. I'm been working with computers since punch card days. > I've been a programmer, designer and, for the last 25 years or so, a system > administrator. Where I work (central computing at the University of Tennessee) > the majority of folks in IT who have a pad have an iPad and most folks have > an Iphone. Not because they are "trendy" but because they feel that for

> their jobs they are superior. > > If you mean that for the uses you have for a cell phone and a pad Mac products > are too expensive and you can get everything you want to do on cheaper > products, that's fine and I'm sure it's true. It's true for me as far the iPhone goes. > An iPad is a different matter. 60-70 percent of all pads sold are iPads - they > expect to sell their 100 millionth this year. Surely some of those 100 million > go to knowledgeable people who buy them because an iPad best serves > their needs. > > ------------------------- RANT OFF --------------------------- > > r > > On May 5, 2012, at 10:43 AM, Don Hanson wrote: > >> It seems to me that Smart cars are sort of like I-pads or I >> phones....trendy and their main advantage is as the "Latest" thing, an "in" >> brand....not because they are actually better than other 'units" that >> perform similarly. The Smart cars are expensive like an I-phone, when you >> can get a similar or superior performing "unit" for very much less money.

>> >> One car that has been around for ages, the CRX Honda, those sell for >> about a grand u$ed and get 50+ highway mpg. They last ~500,000 miles with >> ease. I have a friend who drives these, carries his bicycle inside, >> carries his tools, even sleeps in there at times when on road trips. >> My Canadian buddies who used to own a diesel Westie...they replaced that >> with some kind of newer Honda Civic (?) 4 door generic sedan. That one, >> too, gets right at 50mpg, has a trunk and four doors and might even be >> likely to survive an encounter with a full size vehicle. It will probably >> still be running fine when Smart cars are curious collector vehicles like >> the Isetta. >> >> Those Smarts....cute little things, but really outrageously overpriced >> for what you get, as far as I am concerned. I guess you might >> occasionally stick one into a parking spot that wouldn't fit any other >> vehicle, but you can do that with a cheapo scooter or a touring >> motorcycle. Probably carry more, too, on a big BMW or a Goldwing. Putting >> a transportation device into an unconventional parking space is often >> "rewarded" with a citation or an impound, so there's not much advantage in >> the Smart's short footprint there. >> >> The Funded RV crowd seems to like them, the ones who want to appear >> "green" by driving an Eco-friendly second vehicle and don't consider cost

>> to be important. Other RVers seem to often favor the Suzuki small 4X4s or >> the Chevy Tracker because they can go driving around the "wilderness". I

>> guess it would be an advantage for the Smart that if you got stuck, you >> could just lift the thing out of the ditch or hole or sand, but those tiny >> wheels.... >> >> Don Hanson > > Blessed be! > > Rowan )O(


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