Regarding the price. The 2007 was brand new. The 2008s were selling for 21700. Of course there is tax and license fees but for comparison I like to use the asking price or negotiated price.

Regarding the Smart fortwo - I saw this at the LA Auto Show. And I've seen one up close on the road.

Two concerns. One is the size in our large vehicle crazed culture. I like the fact that I have surround airbags on my civic. And two was the actual models they showed at the show. You would think they'd show clean vehicles with no issues - the one (there were three or four there) I looked at closely had a broken trunk floor cover which was made of thin fiberboard or cardboard. Not something you want to display when quality is a concern.