Car Tipping

[dgruis]

The weight of the Smart car is doing very little damage to the roads compared to a 80,000 lb. semi. Any highway heavily traveled by trucks is marked with pot holes.

Logical thinking is often lost. I hate to suggest this, but if a gallon of unleaded cost $8.80 to $12.00 per gallon as it does in Europe, consumers would demand the 84 mpg Elio.

 

[2.ooohhh]

not sure what state you live in, but in Michigan each car has to be insured under the policy holder. If I had 12 cars in the garage each one would cost the full price of whatever coverage i put on them, minus a small 'multi policy' discount. That is a rip-off since I can only drive one at a time so only one car is at risk of collision at a time. Essentially the insurance company is collecting money to insure against a zero risk factor, and the state MANDATES it. Is that like a tax paid to the insurance company, or just outright THEFT?

I live in TN, and every car also has to be insured here by law but like I said my liability listed on my first "daily driver" on the policy was around $40 a month(2007 Mazda 3) the second was only $9(2003 BMW 3 series). The collector cars vary pretty drastically depending on value and rarity but none of them "require" any more than liability by state law even though I choose to pay for much better coverage. I don't drive anything daily I couldn't walk away from financially should it be totaled. I do know in TN if you have a car loan on a vehicle many banks require much better insurance than I carry(the state min.) but that's to protect their interests, not yours.

 

[carzes]

I live in TN, and every car also has to be insured here by law but like I said my liability listed on my first "daily driver" on the policy was around $40 a month(2007 Mazda 3) the second was only $9(2003 BMW 3 series). The collector cars vary pretty drastically depending on value and rarity but none of them "require" any more than liability by state law even though I choose to pay for much better coverage. I don't drive anything daily I couldn't walk away from financially should it be totaled. I do know in TN if you have a car loan on a vehicle many banks require much better insurance than I carry(the state min.) but that's to protect their interests, not yours.

Here in Michigan, and every other state I've lived in, the liability only on my primary car is about $75. my second car for liability only is about $75. If I add a third car, which I did once, briefly, the liability only on it is about $75. That's $225 a month, liability only with 3 cars in the driveway of which I can only drive 1 at any given time. And no, it's not because I'm high risk, I have a perfect driving record since day one. Lots of other people I know are in the same boat and it IS a real factor in what we can afford to have sitting in the driveway. I can't afford to have a second beater sitting around in case my primary beater breaks down, 'cause if I paid insurance on the backup I might as well go and buy a better car. But I don't want to, I'm waiting for my Elio. :-)

 

[carzes]

Interesting discussion, we have the best govt. that money can BUY. I assume auto insurance company would fight changes which might shrink their profits.

Free registration? Not many but a few people have told me that smart cars should be required to pay higher registration fees; because road repairs are paid by taxes collected per gallon. One (a trucker) told me," You are not paying your fair share of road repair through registration and gas taxes."

Econos not paying their share huh? A big SUV at 16 mpg vs a tractor-trailer at 8 mpg that weighs 10 times as much... Seems to me the trucker is paying ONLY double the fuel tax and moving 10 times the mass down the road right? And when it comes to the real lightweight cars there comes a point at which the wear done to the road by the car is effectively zero. The road would crumble to dust from sheer old age. What that point is I'm not sure, but I suppose bicycles are really getting one over on the poor truckers since they pay no fuel tax. Their effective wear to the road is zero.
Look, we are all taxed to death, and it's hitting us all, but I can't really get behind the trucker math here.

 

[Jim H]

And in most places they don't pay license fees and cities continue to remove or restrict vehicle lanes to create bike lanes for cyclists who ignore basic traffic laws and arrogantly assume they own the roads. I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

[carzes]

Yes guys, I did say FREE registration, and I stand by it! Also no insurance increase on econo vehicles IS totally fair. Let me elaborate to the court;
Imagine if you had your trusty dusty work truck which was also your primary vehicle. It's big, it's heavy, and it gets crappy mpg. You've paid your registration, you pay your insurance on it. Now imagine you can have a button installed in this truck that can shrink it into a geo metro as needed for times when you don't need that big gas sucker. Would you feel it's right to pay registration twice? Or pay double insurance because the vehicle has two configurations? NO! It's the same vehicle just configured for different purposes!
Well we don't HAVE that button. But we can come close to it by having two vehicles in our driveway, one for work and one for economy, and you just walk out your door and get in whichever one suits your purpose for the trip your taking. Why should we pay double expenses in order to have the option? SUPPOSEDLY we are encouraged to be more environmentally responsible, and conserve fuel, and work toward independence from forign oil in the name of a better America tomorrow! But where is our government? Making multi-billion dollar deals for electric car rebates for rich people's $75000 cars. What can we expect from our insurance companies? ROBBERY! and with the HELP of their government lackeys!
Ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you that my proposals are not just good sense for our nation, they are JUSTICE!
Thank you.

 

[carzes]

And in most places they don't pay license fees and cities continue to remove or restrict vehicle lanes to create bike lanes for cyclists who ignore basic traffic laws and arrogantly assume they own the roads. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Oh common, I love my soapbox! I'm thinking of adding bucket seats, racing slicks and a blown 454 with posi-trac. I'll be able to go from humble to fully opinionated in 3.4 seconds or less.
I'm just havin fun with the trucker math, but I guess it comes down to if you feel we should pay road taxes by how much road we occupy, how much wear we cause to the road, how many miles of road we travel, or maybe a flat fee for everyone? You can't really tax based on adherence to the traffic laws, that's called 'tickets' and it's a seperate type of tax which my present soapbox is not prepared for me to comment on. Not until the nitrus kit comes in. (Got a bogus ticket recently and I'm still pretty cheesed.)
But once we can all agree on a fair taxation system for road use we can just crunch out the numbers and have it all fixed. I'm sure there will be a unanimous decision within the hour.....

 

[nickskeys]

Hi all,
I was looking through some smart fortwo pictures online and noticed several where the cars where placed on their sides in parking lots, driveways, and streets as a prank. Because the car is so lightweight, three or four people could potentially flip the smart car on its side or back door and really cause some serious damage. The Elio is far lighter, and seems a perfect candidate for punks with too much time on their hands to pull with the Elio. Is this more worry than reality? Just a thought...

 

[CompTrex]

Hi all,
I was looking through some smart fortwo pictures online and noticed several where the cars where placed on their sides in parking lots, driveways, and streets as a prank. Because the car is so lightweight, three or four people could potentially flip the smart car on its side or back door and really cause some serious damage. The Elio is far lighter, and seems a perfect candidate for punks with too much time on their hands to pull with the Elio. Is this more worry than reality? Just a thought...

With the wide stance, I think it will be difficult to flip on it's side. Picking it up and moving it may be a different story. Or flipped back over front, but I think the long crumple zone in the front will help with that as well.
One of those 'we'll have to wait and see' moments.

 

[CHUCK G.]

Hi all,
I was looking through some smart fortwo pictures online and noticed several where the cars where placed on their sides in parking lots, driveways, and streets as a prank. Because the car is so lightweight, three or four people could potentially flip the smart car on its side or back door and really cause some serious damage. The Elio is far lighter, and seems a perfect candidate for punks with too much time on their hands to pull with the Elio. Is this more worry than reality? Just a thought...

As this will be classified as an "AUTOCYCLE", I do not think that any current motorcycle/future Elio owner is worried to much! As motorcycle owner's we face this one fact day in & day out. The amount of motorcycles that are lifted, damaged and or stolen at major bike events are in the HUNDREDS. My suggestion would be: GOOD INSURANCE / IF THEY WANT IT, IT'S GONE / IF THEY ARE GOING TO TIP IT, IT WILL BE TIP, THUS THE GOOD INSURANCE / LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LIKE MOST MOTORCYCLE RIDERS, WEEEEEEEEEEEE JUST RIDE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW.......
I am all in because, gas is no factor, price is no factor. My Elio will just be for the fun of it..............