Smart Car vs. a Wrecking Ball

From the very beginning, smart has faced an uphill battle regarding perceptions of safety due to its diminutive size. The micro-sized city car officially passes all safety requirements to be sold in many countries across the globe, thanks to its high level of standard safety equipment and its extremely stiff Tridion safety cell, which distributes the impact of a crash throughout its frame.

Now in its second generation, the fortwo is officially on sale for the first time in the United States. Its brush up with the NHTSA crash test saw it receive a four-star rating for protection of the driver, three stars for the passenger and a three star rollover rating, which is applicable to a vehicle of similar size and weight – an unlikely situation in the US.

Countering the blitz, smart UK has put together an advertisement which involves a silver and black fortwo being pummeled by a one-ton wrecking ball at 25 mph. Inside the smart is a stuntman, who, aside from wearing his seatbelt, isn’t wearing any specialized safety equipment. After the onslaught, he simply gets out, obviously uninjured and unimpeded by damage to the doors, demonstrating the excellent impact absorption qualities of the Tridion safety cell.

Besides the distortion of the plastic body panels, the smart’s structure appears to be only lightly damaged, however, despite the authenticity of the impact, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Although the wrecking ball represents a hefty, non-deformable weight, it isn’t quite the same as a conventional-sized automobile - something the smart is much more likely to hit. Nevertheless, the advert is a good retort on smart’s part, and can only bolster its reputation further.