youngTL

These things are insanely popular with women. I went to get a snack at the corner store and I saw 4 of them in that short time! The little buggers go on sale for a month and they're everywhere!

youngTL

Oh dammit I shoulda put this in Car Talk. I R Stupid. Can a mod please move it?

Yumcha

I don't mind them so much...Besides, you being in SUV-pickuptruck-redneck-ville, you need some smaller cars to balance out the ecosystem.

youngTL

Yeah, but now my mom wants one!
I'm trying to push her to test drive a TSX. The smart is apparently slow at heating. A review on auto123.com said that it takes almost 15 minutes to heat up in the winter.

Yumcha

Really now? Yeah, heating would be an issue witht the -9000 degree winters you get there...

My vote? A Mini Cooper S.

youngTL

I don't like the seats in them. At least I didn't at the auto show. I do like the look and power though.

Yumcha

Although, a TSX is never a bad call. Good cars they are, yes.


Just terrible for having sex in the backseat.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

What the hell is a "smart car?

Python2121

i stayed at a campground outside of london this past week and there was a smart car convention...literally 300 smart cars around

Yumcha

is your friend!

F23A4

A tiny Mercedes Benz.


Smart

My daughter saw several of them two weeks ago while touring Germany.

youngTL

Why haven't you see any yet? Are they not for sale in the US yet or something? They've been for sale in for the past month.

F23A4

They've been seen in NYC for some time already. I live in an uppper middle class suburbia where the roads arent as congested, the parking is plenty and large vehicles are the status quo.

youngTL

I live in an area like that, except its more middle class. But still, all I see usually are giant trucks. Now suddenly all these women are driving smart cars. I have yet to count more than 3 men driving them.

quantmonkey

Do they sell them through the Mercede-Benz dealership network? I always assumed the reason they never brought them to America was because they didn't want to dilute the Merecedes brand image.

anothercls

I've seen something even smaller than these in Ottawa, I was thinking how great it'd be to put them in a truck and haul them around.

In NJ cars are a status symbol, we don't keep cars long according to insurance statistics.

calman

The Smart Car has been for sale in Canada since last fall. The response for sales has been the strongest here in Alberta and Western Canada, where, and here is the irony, all of the oil is! We looked at one last winter and they are surprisingly roomy and fun to drive. Plus you can get close to 60 mpg in town and a top speed (limited) to 140 km/hour. As for why they are not in the US:

"U.S. car customizer ZAP shocked DaimlerChrysler by placing an order for $1 billion worth of smart fortwo minicars from DaimlerChrysler.

While Mercedes-Benz has tabled its plans to launch smart in the U.S. because of a bleak profit forecast, the cost of federalizing the cars and iffy demand, California-based ZAP has figured a way to economically handle the safety and environmental adjustments so well that Mercedes sent engineers to the company earlier this year to see how they managed it. "ZAP placed the purchase order directly to the DaimlerChrysler Group in an effort to expedite delivery of U.S. compliant smart cars to consumers. ZAP is still waiting for confirmation that smart GmbH will fulfill the purchase order," the Santa Rosa, Calif., company said in a statement. The order was for 76,500 cars at a total price of $1.03 billion. Zap said it has received more than $1 billion in orders from U.S. dealers for Americanized versions of the smart. Whether DaimlerChrysler fills the order remains to be seen.

The company is torn between booking the income and conceding the launch of the brand in the U.S. to a company it doesn't control.

Conventional wisdom says that U.S. drivers would not a car as small as the smart fortwo, especially because of the explosion in big SUVs on American roads. But there is demand from environmentalists, individualists, companies who want to use the easily parkable cars in big cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston, as well as companies that want to turn the funny-looking minicars into rolling advertising placards.

Mercedes executives have speculated that there may be a market of 10,000 fortwos a year in the U.S. Dealers, it seems, disagree."

F23A4

Out of all my friends, family and acquaintances, we probably have the oldest cars (02 Maxima and 00 Quest). If it wasnt for my aversion to car payments, I'd probably have a 05 545i and an 05 MDX Touring.

aaronnn

yes! i got my license three years ago and ive already been through 3 cars!

ive seen the smart around here a few times. its the same person that i always bump into while sitting through traffic trying to get into NYC to work. but she seems to be able to maneuver that thing through traffic alot better than my TL would be able to. doesnt really matter though, i usually just sit on the end lane and go with the flow. north jersey sucks, too many stupid escalades, navigators, all ford SUV's, etc blocking my view.. at least if there were smaller cars i would get a nice view while crossing (or sitting with my foot on the brake) the damn bridge.

Chopsie

welcome to the club delux

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

So it's a MB version of a Mini.....Ugly thing!

youngTL

A whopping 40.2hp and 70lb-ft of torque. Thing weighs 1600lbs.

Sdog2012

thing must get 1000mpg!

FastAcura

Homer : "If those cars are so smart, then how come they can't talk?"

youngTL

It gets about 60mpg around town. It's a 3-cyl turbodiesel. I forget the displacement.

mantis23

shit like this won't work in Texas

cusdaddy

Never seen one here in the US, but I saw them all over Europe and I drove one in Italy. Personally I hated it.