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US smart Centres > Canadian smart Centres

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I just got back from a weekend in Washington D.C. (hung out with mdfortwoguy), and we visited one of the smart centres there... in Canada, you have a desk and a sign off in the corner of a Mercedes dealership... in the US, no way! It looks like a cross between an IKEA showroom and an Apple store. I know Canada was the North American pilot project (so they had to make sure if it flopped they could "erase" the "mistake" quickly and without any infrastructure left over but I'm so jealous of what they got :) It's great, though - I bet it really enhances the brand image and makes it even more desirable for people.Talked to a guy at my regular stop at the NY/PA border on Route 15 who has waited 9 months so far for his, has another 3 to go, and says the current wait in the States is 2 years.What is with the MASSIVE HOCKEY PUCK on the windshield of the US cars?! D.J. explained it to me but I don't get why it's so massive, it looks like it'd totally get in the way on cloverleaf onramps. There are a lot of differences between the Canadian spec cars and the US ones I found out as well (like the 4-way lights will automatically come on when you mash on the brakes quickly from high speed!). And I also learned that to disable the creep feature you just have to engage the handbrake enough that the switch is made (ie, one click). COOL!At the smart Centre (er!) we visited, they had the 12-spoke rims that the road-show cars were equipped with (and that I wish they'd brought to NA in the first place). I hate those 9-spoke passion rims with... a passion!-Iain

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I hate those passion rims too.I have a hockey puc on my windshield. It's the light and rain sensor I thought. It sure is huge.

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We're a little spoiled here. When I went to the dealership here for the first time I was talking to one of the Smart reps about the buildings. It used to be an Isuzu dealership. I noticed that the service bays looked recycled from the old buildings. He said that even the show building was reused. The put a new face on it and cleaned up the inside. I was very surprised. The building looked brand new.My wait was 1 year and about 2 months.I didn't even notice that thing on the windshield. So, it's different on the Canadian 451s?I think I understand what you mean about disabling the creep feature. You just pull the handbrake up until it clicks once and it electronically disables it? I'll have to try that.I did notice one wierd thing when driving it. I was driving up a slight hill and decided to back down in neutral to turn around. I think it beeped or something and when I put it into D it wouldn't engage until I put it in P, shut the car off and restarted the car. I think I was in neutral anyway. I might have been in reverse. I'll have to try that again.

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What's a "creep feature"? :eh: The US Smart Centres sound nifty, though!

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There are a lot of differences between the Canadian spec cars and the US ones I found out as well (like the 4-way lights will automatically come on when you mash on the brakes quickly from high speed!).

This is the same on the Candian 451's - It's quite a "smart" safety feature. Actually, my decision to buy was made at the exact moment when I was shown this feature during my test drive.

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What's a "creep feature"? :eh:

It is when you do not have your brakes applied and the car inches forward. :)On the 450s, you can let your foot off the brake and it will be like you are in neutral.Does anyone have a picture of this "hockey puck"?

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Posted (edited) · Report post

the hockey puck is the rain sensor if you get the comfort package in the USA.

post-1049-1217279362_thumb.jpg

Edited by SCHMART

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Oh my!That's awful. I already had to move the mirror to get a decent view. Th Smart is no different to many other cars in this respect it's just the designers must all be very short in the body not to understand this problem. I like to see where I'm going more than where I've been! To bad they've made it worse on the 451.

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Man that puck is crazy. I can't imagine what it's going to mean when it comes time to replace the windshield, extra $$$.

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Man that puck is crazy. I can't imagine what it's going to mean when it comes time to replace the windshield, extra $$$.

$65.00...we just replaced bevs when a rock hit the windshield

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It's ridiculous, that puck is MASSIVE! I can't believe it got approved... I'm constantly ducking (har har) under my mirror to see out, especially when turning to the right, like around cloverleaves onto major highways. I would have thought it would have made more sense to have it mounted on the far (right) side of the mirror, but I'm sure there's a reason for why it is where it is...

Here are some photos:

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image

-Iain

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It's because the wipers have to pass over it or it would continuously wipe. I still think it should be down the bottom. There is an element of this car being made like a lego creation.

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...I also learned that to disable the creep feature you just have to engage the handbrake enough that the switch is made (ie, one click). COOL!

That's really cool. Now does anyone know how to keep it disabled 100% of the time without having to mess with the handbrake?

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I suspected that the creep function might be disabled in the same way as the hill-holder is in the 450 model, and mentioned it in another thread. I thought someone might try it, but if so, they never responded, to my knowledge. The effect of the hand brake on the hill-holder operation is documented in the manual. I'd think that the disabling of the creep function should be documented in a similar fashion. This would mean that for UK drivers, the creep function would be a non-issue, since the law over there stipulates that the handbrake be applied whenever stopped. This, presumably, is to lessen the chances of the car being pushed into (further) harm's way if struck by another vehicle. I know that Evilution didn't think that he'd like to be blinded by a lot of brake lights of stopped cars at controlled intersections. Here in North America, it's expected.

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I always apply the handbrake at stops... a) for the brake light reason and B) I don't like that people might assume I'm driving an automatic. :) I didn't try this on the 451, because I honestly didn't think the handbrake would be strong enough to resist the creep function FIGHTING it!-Iain

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Heh, so far in my experience (at 6'2), the puck doesn't really get in the way. The rearview mirror blocks it from sight... then again, I am thinking that once I finally get my car I am going to mount my ISRV mirror from the area near the dome lamp and take it off of the windshield, so that might change my perspective.Interestingly, the windscreens are also different between the puck/non-puck equipped 451s.I will say this - in my experience, the rain sensing wipers are worth having it there - but then again, I like my gadgets on the car.

Edited by MDFortwoguy

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No doubt - I was startled when one of the courtesy B-Classes I had suddenly started wiping... that one was programmed VERY well, it always picked the right speed and everything! Pretty cool. I wonder if the puck is a capacitive sensor in there?-Iain

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I have a sensor like that on my van - very good. I do like the speed sensitive feature of the canadian passion wipers. So far no real issues. Could we get the puck here if we wanted I wonder?B)

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the puck hasn't been a problem for myself or for Bev ....the sensor picks up on the intensity of the rain...harder it rains the faster the wipers go. the only negative is they can't transfer it from broken windshield to a new windshield.

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