http://www.autospectator.com/modules...?storyid=10411

This is DaimlerChrysler "fortwo" and sounds like a nice, urban car.

Bob Wilson

 

And you can park it perpendicular to the curb The smart car has always been one of my favorites. It's impressive that they could improve the efficiency by that much AND shave 4 seconds off the 0 - ~60.

 

I don't know... I wish I knew more about pricing/imports to US.

I was just scoping prices out at www.smartusa.com because there was a smart car for sale near me for $12k. So I was complaining about the price, and someone told me when they start "officially" importing them they'd be cheaper. But from what I've seen, the smart is 12k (without a/c and other things) the smart "passion" is 14, and the "passion" convertible is 17k.

So I'm looking at this, and a predicted 40 mpg for the non-diesel... and trying to figure out why anyone would pay that much money for half a car. It doesn't seem smart to me.

As a hybrid driver with an '04 HCH that I get basically the equivalent gas mileage in (or maybe better), but I have four doors (twice the amount of car for about 4,000 more), I'm wondering how they're going to sell these things.

Anyone else have smart opinions on the Smart cars? I would pay 14-17 for hybrid diesel smart car, but if the conventional smart cars cost as much as they do, I can't figure out what they're smoking.

 

Diesels already get great MPG vs. gasoline cars, so a diesel hybrid would be the best of both worlds. IMO it wouldn't have to be anything "smart" or otherwise overly fancy -- just a diesel Prius or HCH.

 

It's not always about saving money. People pay that much for motorcycles, they pay much more for hybrids with worse mileage, etc. The Smart is popular in some countries mainly because it's easy to park, which is extremely important in crowded cities.

 

Smart looks Smart some places. You could park easily as you say, and if the average speed limit were say 30-35 mpg and you had short non-highway commutes... But I can't see them around here (or the minis either). The average speed, even in city driving is 40 mpg (with a lot of long stretches and some lights in between-- this is the southwest). A lot of people are driving SUVs here, I feel it would be dangerous. Now if we could these people out of their SUVs, slow everyone down-- but dream on....

--des

 

That is the reason in Rome the scooters and Smarts are so popular.
Watching down from atop the Colosseum into the utterly chaotic Via del Fori Imperiali, the manouvers that drivers routinely perform to fill the tiniest road spaces, is a tourist attraction on itself.

Seriously doubt that one could perform such a stunt in Texas, without risk of being mowed down by a Suburban or Excursion.