I just saw my first Smart Car

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Parnelli Bone

Parnelli Bone

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Parnelli_Bones
I know they're probably seen commonly in Europe, but to see one cruising in my town was a real shocker. :scared: I mean, i've seen them in the DaVinci Code and in magazines, but up close it just made me grin a jejune sort of smile, but at the same time i couldn't imagine driving one; especially in America, which {even with the gas prices} is still heavily road-dominated by big, dumb SUVs, Crossovers, "Mini"vans, and such.

What are your impressions?
 
Parnelli Bone
What are your impressions?
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Very good:




In all seriousness, I'd never, ever drive one. They just look riduculously box-like and girly to me. They have a small boot (not surprising), and an auto-only gearbox which is slow and jerky (apparently it takes a couple of seconds to change gear). Apparently the newer model, which looks very similar, is improved, but I still would never drive one.

At least they are small enough to get around traffic easily on the small congested roads here. You can park one nose first on the side of the road too:

smartcarparking_lrg.jpg
 
I've seen more then a few of them around my town and it's disappointing in my opinion. I personally think it's a useless car in America other then the fact that it gets good gas mileage. There are no small city streets, and as you said, most of the other vehicles on the road are full size.

I'd like to see a smart take on a 3500 :lol:
 
They are everywhere here, I see at least five daily. They would be great in a large city but out here in the suburbs I'm surprised the morons in their Dodge Rams don't have to come home and night and wash off the smeared Smart car on their big chrome bumper.
 
M5Power
Your first?! They've been officially sold here for nearly a year now!
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Yeah i know...what can i say? I haven't seen one till recently. Central Maryland isn't quite known for being on the forefront of the latest trends in cars. I've even gone to DC a few times this year (to the Smithsonian museums) and never saw one down there, yet.

G.T
Very good:

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HEE hEE!!! That does look like fun!

In all seriousness, I'd never, ever drive one. They just look riduculously box-like and girly to me. They have a small boot (not surprising), and an auto-only gearbox which is slow and jerky (apparently it takes a couple of seconds to change gear). Apparently the newer model, which looks very similar, is improved, but I still would never drive one.

At least they are small enough to get around traffic easily on the small congested roads here. You can park one nose first on the side of the road too:

smartcarparking_lrg.jpg
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I could see myself renting one if i ever went to Europe...but yeah, i'd rather bike around than own a SmartCar.:D
 
Parnelli Bone
Yeah i know...what can i say? I haven't seen one till recently. Central Maryland isn't quite known for being on the forefront of the latest trends in cars. I've even gone to DC a few times this year (to the Smithsonian museums) and never saw one down there, yet.
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A friend of mine lives in Columbia, Maryland. She went to Hammond High. Know it?
 
M5Power
A friend of mine lives in Columbia, Maryland. She went to Hammond High. Know it?
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NO way! yeah, i know where that is..about 10 minutes away from me. :D I went to Centennial, tho. :cheers:
 
I wish they gave us the first generation. Because they're selling it here, they decided to give it a God-damn automatic. People who want good mileage are beggars, and thus, should not be choosers.

If it came in stick, I'd buy one.
 
If it was a bit cheaper, came in the Coupe version (like the one they have in Europe) and had a manual transmission, I might consider one.
 
Why not just get the similarly priced and similar fuel economy Toyota Yaris?
 
I think the idea of the SmartCar is great, but personally i wouldn't want one. If i had the money, i'd love to buy a Tesla, tho.
 
I saw one at an intersection a couple days ago… looked absolutely ridiculous on a 4-lane suburban road.
 
There are a couple runnin around here. Funny, but what's funnier is the amount of motorcycles and scooters I've been seeing.
 
M5Power
Your first?! They've been officially sold here for nearly a year now!
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I see'em downtown ALL THE TIME. :crazy:


I think they're pretty useless too. In the city though, I guess they could be pretty convenient, otherwise it doesn't look very accomodating.
 
They're actually pretty "big" on the inside. Plenty of space. They're pretty comfy, and are built well. I'd like one.
 
I didn't see my first Smart until maybe a month ago, and have seen maybe one other since then. A lot of people have been riding scooters and bicycles in my area to save on gas (we have bike lanes on pretty much every street), so it's only a matter of time before more Smarts are on the road. Personally, I wouldn't mind owning a ForTwo at all, especially if there was a manual. I'd just supe it up and zip around in that (I've been wanting to get a Mini to do the same!).
 
Joey D
Why not just get the similarly priced and similar fuel economy Toyota Yaris?
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Or spend an extra grand and get a proper Honda Fit.
 
Joey D
Why not just get the similarly priced and similar fuel economy Toyota Yaris?
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Why else do you think Mercedes has lost so many billions of dollars on the brand ( and that was when they were selling them in places where people would actually buy the things)?
 
I saw what I think was one a while back, cruising down the interstate at about 70 mph. Seemed awfully tall for something with such a short wheelbase though.
 
There are handful of Smart fortwo in my city, even the non-sense B-Class shows up once in a while. Too many wealthy people wasting their money on unpractical stuff. Last week I even saw a metallic light blue 2008 fortwo with beige leather interior. I believe that is a limited edition.

For me, the trunk space is too small for groceries, let alone picking up someone from the airport. I would rather buy a Mini or a Clubman for the same trendy lifestyle and not-so-bad mileage.
 
Toronado
Why else do you think Mercedes has lost so many billions of dollars on the brand ( and that was when they were selling them in places where people would actually buy the things)?
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So many billions of dollars? :)
 
But instead of a car that essentially tells the rest of the automotive industry to F--- off, Mercedes ended up with this:
Smart_rabbit4.jpg

I'm sure we could argue for seconds who came out ahead.
 
G.T
smartcarparking_lrg.jpg
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Wow, what a dick. I would be pissed if I parked my Suburban there and somebody in a Smart pulled behind me like that.
 
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