San Francisco Vandals Tip Over Smart Cars

[Eleazar]

Only in San Francisco: Vandals Tip Over Several Smart Cars
By Brian Shields
Mon Apr 7th, 2014 4:54am America/Los_Angeles



SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A group of eight hooded vandals is apparently responsible for picking up several parked smart cars and turning them on their sides or upside down.

Witness Brandon Michael says he was smoking a cigarette when one of the incidents happened near Bowdoin and Sweeny at about 12:30 a.m. Monday.

“All of a sudden I just see eight hooded figures walk up to the car,” Michael says. “I thought it looked like they were up to no good. And then sure enough they walk up to this smart car right here, all huddle around it, and then lift it up and set it on its hind legs.”

Michael says he thinks the whole thing is kind of silly but clearly an act of vandalism.

Police say witnesses report seeing similar vandalism on smart cars at about the same time just on the other side of I-280. One smart car ended up on its side at Anderson and Ogden while another was left on its roof a few blocks away at Anderson and Courtland.

It’s unclear what the motive may be for the car tippings.

[Perineum Ripper]

I guess this is kind of like when me and my high school buddies would drive around and flip hay bales on end to piss farmers off a little..oh how the worlds between city and country life differ

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Ceej

It took eight of them?

You'd think two or three could handle that itty bitty car.

You do realize the possibility of it just happening to be a group of 8 roaming around. It's also possible that someone came up with the idea and exclaimed 'no way us 3 can handle this, assemble the posse!!' but it seems less likely.

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I wonder how much, if any this will affect the operation of the car?

Will fluids leak out being tipped over like that?

It's going to be flooded. The owner is going to be pulling the cord forever trying to get it started again.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I have to agree.

They're really not even economical. They cost a decent bit and they're expensive to maintain. Plus they're tiny as shit and the pause in shifting gears can be a bitch when you're trying to accelerate quickly.

[BlackHelicopters]

What's the point?

[Rain Man]

I rode in one for the first time last week. I was surprised by how roomy they were, and the person driving said that they were plenty zippy for city driving.

And I hope the people vandalizing these cars get caught and pay for all the damage they caused. Let's see how funny it is when you're getting your pay garnished for the next few years or you're sitting in jail for a while. What a bunch of idiots.

[Jimmya]

Funniest shit I've seen in a while! Awesome

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by El Jefe

That's really not true at all. My mom bought one when they first came out in 09 or 10 (IIRC). She bought it for 15k. She gets 48-50mpg on a fill up. The oil change is full synthetic ($30) for us to change, it does run premium gas, but it paid for itself after 3 years. She lives 40 miles from work one way. It was perfect for what she needed. All other maintenance has been done by us, and not been more or less expensive than most other cars. She has over 100k miles on it now, and its still running strong.

*Personally, I don't like how the car looks or drives, but to say they aren't economical is silly. If anything, economical is exactly what they are.

Hmm. That was partly me speaking on what I couldn't confirm. What I'm going by is my boss who's owned one for a little over 2 years now. He tells me it's $80 to do the oil change, which may be due to the fact that he brings it to the Mercedes dealership, and that thing always has some bullshit that needs to be fixed.

I have driven it often, though, and I can say the hesitation while shifting gears can make it tough to merge with high-speed traffic, obviously it's very small with only two seats, and their isn't much cargo space. When I drove it, it got roughly 40 MPG city which just isn't cutting it, in my opinion, especially when you consider a lot of these newer compact cars are getting 35+ with more of the perks of a regular-sized vehicle. Plus, if you get into a crash in one of them, 5 star crash rating be damned, your ass is grass.

[wazu]

Police have a suspect.

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I have driven it often, though, and I can say the hesitation while shifting gears can make it tough to merge with high-speed traffic

Does it have a CVT or that automated manual still? (either way, meh)

[TrebMaxx]

Meh, I would like to see those punks try that on my F150 SuperCrew.

[Imon Yourside]

My Prius says suck it! HAHA!

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Cochise

Does it have a CVT or that automated manual still? (either way, meh)

I'm not knowledgeable enough about machines to say for sure. My boss's was like an automatic in that all the driver needs to do is put it in drive, but there is a manual-like pause while it's shifting gears that, from what I am aware, can't be sped up.

[El Jefe]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Hmm. That was partly me speaking on what I couldn't confirm. What I'm going by is my boss who's owned one for a little over 2 years now. He tells me it's $80 to do the oil change, which may be due to the fact that he brings it to the Mercedes dealership, and that thing always has some bullshit that needs to be fixed.

I have driven it often, though, and I can say the hesitation while shifting gears can make it tough to merge with high-speed traffic, obviously it's very small with only two seats, and their isn't much cargo space. When I drove it, it got roughly 40 MPG city which just isn't cutting it, in my opinion, especially when you consider a lot of these newer compact cars are getting 35+ with more of the perks of a regular-sized vehicle. Plus, if you get into a crash in one of them, 5 star crash rating be damned, your ass is grass.

Yeah, it could very well be $80 bucks at a Mercedes Dealership. Our cost on filter and synthetic oil is $30. I do not believe she has ever got under 48mpg. I have driven it many times, and I can say I hate the way they shift. Then again, I didn't buy the car, she did, so who cares what I think lol.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by El Jefe

That's really not true at all. My mom bought one when they first came out in 09 or 10 (IIRC). She bought it for 15k. She gets 48-50mpg on a fill up. The oil change is full synthetic ($30) for us to change, it does run premium gas, but it paid for itself after 3 years. She lives 40 miles from work one way. It was perfect for what she needed. All other maintenance has been done by us, and not been more or less expensive than most other cars. She has over 100k miles on it now, and its still running strong.

*Personally, I don't like how the car looks or drives, but to say they aren't economical is silly. If anything, economical is exactly what they are.

Edmunds.com, based on 15,000 miles per year, has the Smart car costing more than a Honda Accord sedan, just for an example, when it comes to both Insurance and Repairs, which makes the fuel savings a small one (about $100 per year). So, apparently, it is true.