rental cars; body shops; The Man

[solipsistnation]

I have exchanged the largemobile for a tiny Ford Focus. It feels like a toy and drives like a go-kart, but I bet it gets better than 20 miles per gallon, so I might not go totally broke driving it.

I have the estimate for car repairs. It's a total of $2000. Insurance is covering this. (How much do they think my 1997 Saturn is WORTH, anyway? Dang, talk about a car holding its value.) They may or may not waive the deductible. I have to send in my copy of the accident report. She seemed to think they would, but she needed more info and couldn't tell me right off.

My car is on its way to a body shop. It's being shuffled around somewhere in the background while I make phone calls and fill out forms.

Maybe sometime I'll have my zippy little car back...

Comments

[ex-susumu64.livejournal.com]

I know you Americans have strange size-perception lobes in your brains when it comes to cars, but how is a Ford Focus "tiny"?

[mangosteen]

I consider "drives like a go-kart" to be an asset, actually. The car doesn't turn, as much as it pivots.

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[eccles.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't your point be better made by finding a picture of a Focus next to a Smart? Also bear in mind the US version of the Focus has a longer wheelbase too for some reason. They use the US version for the WRC rally car.

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[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I have a Focus, actually (the two-door hatchback model), and while there are things I don't like about it, I like the handling just fine.

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[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I know you Americans have strange size-perception lobes in your brains when it comes to cars

Sigh. Not true of all of us. I swear, I hate being from here sometimes....the noisy idiots in our citizenry and our political system have done such a great job of making the rest of us look bad.

I think solipsistnation meant "tiny compared to the big ungainly car he was stuck with previously". We have both always driven and preferred compact cars, so the family-sedan-sized thing seemed unwieldy in comparison.

I hear we're going to get those urban tinycars like the one in your picture in the States Real Soon Now. That would be so neat...I saw them when we were in London and wished I'd had that option when car shopping at home.

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[mangosteen]

I don't know if the Smart cars are coming to the states any time coon, but the Mercedes A-class (a mere-mortal-priced vehicle they sell everywhere but here) is, which is a fascinating little vehicle. It looks like a Minivan where they shrunk the length by about 30%. That, and it supposedly will come with a Diesel option for the engine, also adding to its economy.

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[kadath.livejournal.com]

I'd be too scared of my fellow drivers in Navigators and Excursions to buy any car that small. No crumple zones, and it must just disappear in blind spots.

[beckyjen.livejournal.com]

I really like my Focus. For a first car its seriously simple to handle. I also get 31 miles per gallon, sometimes 32, which is a serious bonus.

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[ex-susumu64.livejournal.com]

I think solipsistnation meant "tiny compared to the big ungainly car he was stuck with previously".

Yeah, I think so too. I just couldn't resist...

Actually what annoys me more than your noisy idiots is that previously sensible companies like Honda now find it neccessary to build and sell big useless trucks. Stupid market forces.

I think the Smart that will go on sale in the US is going to be the bigger four seater one, mainly because the little one wouldn't pass crash testing.

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[ex-susumu64.livejournal.com]

Very clever engineering on the A-class - it has a two layer chassis and the engine sits between them so in a serious crash it gets shunted under the passenger compartment, rather than into it.

The current fad in Europe is for 'compact MPVs' like the Focus C-Max, Renault Scenic and VW Touran, which are halfway between an A-class and a real MPV (or minivan, if you insist). Do you lot have those?

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[hirez.livejournal.com]

I wondered about that myself, so I went for a bit of a potter on ye interwebnet: http://www.thesmartcar.com/index.htm

It would appear that EU construction & use regs work as well as the set on your side of the water.

I'm minded to go have a test-drive. The idea of a blown three pot with a six speed semi-auto box sounds like fun to me.

(And I used to commute 100 miles/day on the motorway in a rusty Mini, which I would think would have come off far worse if flattened by some pantechnicon.)

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[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I think the Smart that will go on sale in the US is going to be the bigger four seater one, mainly because the little one wouldn't pass crash testing.

Looks like you're right. The article I glanced at mentions this, and can be found here.

Let's hope it does well enough that they roll out some version of the two-seater that can pass the tests later.

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[kadath.livejournal.com]

Your syntax is English, but I don't understand any of the words.... ;)

"Maximum protection" for a car the size of a shoebox isn't much, I'm afraid, especially with the upholstered tanks many of my fellow drivers seem to favor sharing the road.

They come with casette decks. Aww...that's as cute at the cars. :D

[qedrakmar.livejournal.com]

Your car (concidentally, also, MY car) is worth about $2,000 Mine is only about 1,700 thank to the lack of extras. Not that I happened to look at kbb.com earlier today or anything...

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[sauergeek.livejournal.com]

I drive a Miata. It's not as tall as a Smart, as I recall, but is wider/longer. I've only had one SUV back into me, and I could clearly see the driver's rear-view mirror -- driver was just being oblivious.