Mercedes Smart Car
 

My daughter just returned from a trip to Italy and is all excited about the little "Smart" cars they have. They are designed by Swatch and built by Mercedes. They come in wild colors and two can park (sideways) in a single parking space which makes them really popular in the cities.

She wants to get one but I don't know if they will ever be federalized for sale here. They have a website if anyone wants to take a peek at one: www.smart.com

Hey, that's pretty cool looking. Great for the city dwellers!

And if you get hit by one you just go the hospital and have it removed:D

yea... they sure do look cool, but first off, what about highway driving.. I mean... will it even do 60? And two... American is the land of the large burly SUVs, which don't pretend to be refined and definetaly don't take teutonic care in how they act when they smash into other vehicles, and well... one of them little smart cars wouldn't fare well... no... it just woulnd't fare at all in a wreck with your neighborhood expedition...

Coffin with an engine!!!

I've seen these cars, and even smaller ones:eek: buzzing the autobahn at 60-70MPH. Scary!

You guys should spend a day in London, the bloody things are everywhere. They have finally started selling them in right hand drive specifically for the UK market, as up until now they were all LHD.

Nippy little things, and i think they do about 85mph tops, and about 60MPG!

However you are right, they look very strange on the motorway and can be easily blasted past!!!

won't be able to register it here. foreign nationals can bring their cars and drive it here and maybe even sell it to you but you will never get the title for it in this country. the only loophole is if you can get one that is at least 25 years old, we'll need Stephen Hawking to explain the probabilities and technicalities of that happening at this point in time...

Jsmith

You would think you could really, i mean being such a small engine im sure it would meet US emmissions laws no problem, but you have different laws on bumpers and other such things, so i suppose thats the problem.

And it would look a bit stupid in a car park sat next to a caddy or something!

i've seen one in texas being sold on ebay
 

pretty cool...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1826134943&r=0&t=0

Typical Yank anti-small-anything...
 

Geez. Anything that isn't a 10,000lb gas-sucking pigmobile SUV is instantly bereated as being too small and unsafe.

What a great car for urban hopping! Easy to park, cheap on gas, and enough performance for freeway jaunts. Okay, it's not great for the family vacation to the coast, but I'd buy one in a second for errand running.

MB Canada has indicated that they will import the A-Class in 2004. If they do, we'll buy one to replace our aging Mazda "third car." The A offers a huge cargo area with folding seats, fuel economy to rival the hybrids (with the right engines) and excellent safety features. Sounds like the perfect runabout to me!

beware ebay
 

i notice that the ebay car is 25 years old (see fine print on "1976"), so we don't need Mr. Hawking after all :rolleyes:

these guys even sell a brabus smart!!!
brand new ones with warranties -
tempted....

http://www.vespa-us.com/smart/index.html

well see... there is nothing wrong with small cars, actually, I can't stand the giant suvs dumb mothers drive around town... first off, they go way to fast for those things, I mean, around turns, you got mom and the kids swerving across two lanes cause she doesn't know how to drive a big truck, second, they can't see anything, so they just cut in left and right. Now, throw in the teenagers who drive their lifted tahoes, I mean, they wouldn't even notice if they ran over anybody... and plus, since nobody bothers to teach them how to drive (Remember, they have more accidents because they are 16, not because all they do in drivers ed is show you pictures of dead people) they swerve left and right to. These people never take them off road, they just want a big giant boat that can't turn. Now, what they drive is their business, but, at least the way people drive in Texas, it quickly becomes your business as they smash right into your little smart car, or rear endit, or whats more probable, just run over the little thing. I really like these cars, but you have to ask yourself, in a country like America, where they keyword is urban sprawl, do you really even want a tiny car? You can't carry much... they don't come with a lot of amenities, and unless you live in New York, parking is hardly a problem in this land of I will build massive shopping malls every 2 miles for your shopping conveniece...

You cannot officially buy one of those Smart cars in the U.S. However, there is a variant of the like on sale in California. I frequently see them in the streets of San Francisco.

Smart car is designed to be used only within city limits. They are not designed to go fast, since the base model only has 41 hp and the more powerful model has a whooping 54 hp. It is virtually driving a moped with doors.:eek: :eek:

The Smart is not cheap consider what you are getting. They go for close to $10K.

Here in Canada, every Bell Mobility Cellular store in the malls have a Smart car on display. I fell in love with this thing and then when I found out Mercedes makes it, I loved even more.

Notice that the front headlights resembles the new C class a bit?

I would thoroughly enjoy owning one of these. With my daily comute, it would be great to drive 600 miles a week on ~10 bux.

hehehe... you could always buy a geo metro...

Nah, my Dad had bought two of these things. They were total crap. They had all of the solidity of a beer can. Not only that, no diesel option, which I *can* get in the Smart car.

:D

I have very little respect for these dinky little things. A fellow that I work with in Milan was serious about buying one. This was last October, I asked him what it would cost. It was before the Euro, so I don't remember how many lyre it was, but I do remember that it converted to about $18,000 ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I think that is total obscenity. He ended up buying an SLK instead. The car WOULD be handy in Milan. It is so crowded in downtown Milan that you would not believe it. For that reason, most people ride a motor scooter instead of a car.

The other thing that has really gotten my attention about Milan is that you see VERY EXPENSIVE new cars kept in the street, parallel parked every night. Its nothing to see a brand new S or E Class, parallel parked in a tight parking spot. First of all, the way they drive there, I have no idea how you can handle such a big car, and second, it seems like the car would turn to crap being parked outside all the time.

I will be SHOCKED if the Smart is ever federalized.

My $0.02,

http://www.thesmart.co.uk/index.html?dir=see&main=see_overview.asp

The quality line up.....i would be a bit embarassed in one i have to say.

I was under the impression that MBUSA was selling dealerships for SMART cars in the U.S.?

It's no big deal to get the car to U.S. specs. As far as safety, they do still sell motorcycles in the U.S.???

The last time I was in Rome the Smart was all over the place. I think it is a great "City Car".

North Americans may be too macho for it though.

I don't think the rejection by most will be because they are too macho to drive one. I think the most common reason for rejection will be practicality. Most commuters come in on freeways and sidestreets from the suburbs. For this commute, they really need a real car.

For those who work AND live in crowded downtown areas, it will have a market in spite of the fact that it costs twice as much as what it's worth.

My $0.02,

These things can do 70 mph. What more do you want?

I don't know about freeways where you are, but in my area and many other parts of the world where I've been, driving 70MPH will get you run over. If I'm going to get run over, I would like much more mass around me than one of these "cars" offers. For $18,000 there are MANY choices of cars that will provide much more comfort, safety and long term reliability.

Again, for those who do not leave the city, they might be a decent choice if the price were right.

My $0.02,

Larry,

I said 70 mph just to show that the Smart would have no problem on our highways. If you like speeding tickets, the Smart's maximum speed is electronically limited to 85 mph.

As regards to price, don't forget that Italians pay a 22% VAT (value added tax) on their automobiles.

The Smart may not be for you but there is definitely a market for it in North America.

As I say, I do believe that there is a market in North America. I doubt that they will bother trying to sell many of them outside of NYC, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, etc.

I am going to Milan week after next and will see the person that told me $18,000. I will ask if that price was before or after tax. Even if it was after tax, that still puts the car at $14,000. This is still a lot of money for a four wheel motorcycle.

If I lived and worked in one of these urban areas, I would spend $18,000 or $19,000 on one of the new Mini's before I would spend even $12,000 on a Smart. North American cities are not NEARLY as crowded and full of narrow streets as are European cities.

Also, when you actually get into one of these tiny things, you may change your mind. The pictures in no way portray just how small these things really are.

Have a great day,

I have seen a cute little blue one around my neighborhood here in Dallas. Couldn't imagine what it was when I saw the Star on the hood. I'm glad this post came around as I thought I was suffering from hallucinations.
It's a GREAT idea, but not really in Dallas. We have too many Surburbans/Excursions (WAY too many, IMHO). My old SD feels small compared to some of those giants. Many of the drivers (blondes on cell phones 80% of the time) haven't learned that they are different from the sports coupes they were driving before they got an 8 passenger vehicle to haul 1.5 kids and .75 dog.
Sorry to dwell on the subject. Working in the Park Cities area of Dallas and living nearby, I see too many SUV drivers not having ANY respect to the vehicle's size on streets that were designed in the 1930s. Well, I suppose it is Texas afterall!

Well, I like the idea of ultra-efficient commuter cars, but the Smart is redundant thanks to the CDI versions of the A-Class. The A carries four people, is capable of getting under 5L/100km's, and is easy to drive on freeway/highway.

If we in Canada were able to purchase from the same selection as in Europe, our stable would probably consist of an A-Class CDI model and a C270CDI Estate.

35 US MPG would be the worst mileage our house would see...

Hey Robert,

Easy on the native Texans now!:D

Have a great day,