Driving home in the Smart Fortwo last night, I noticed there are three distinct kinds of Smart spectators on the road.
1. Over Interested - This crowd was way too happy to see the Smart and kept either driving next to me smiling and waving as if they just spotted some kind of cartoon character come to life, or kept slightly behind in my blind spot with camera phones out. I'd much rather they paid attention to the road instead of me...
2. Blissfully Unaware - These people just wanted to get home from work and weren't paying any attention to who was around them or what they were driving. Love those people.
3. Full of Anger - These people see the Smart, assume that it is slow, and that the traffic jam we're in is its fault. They tailgate and honk and assume that if only the Smart were out of their way, they could get home in record time. Never mind that the 405 freeway sucks every day and has nothing to do with the Smart which is perfectly capable of keeping up with the flow of traffic. Haters.
All in all, I'd rather not have the attention this little car attracts.
When I finally got home, I was suddenly much more interesting to my neighbors and every little girl on the street.
As I climbed out of the Smart, I felt like I was hatching out of an egg. Later that night, a friend said it looked like I was driving a football helmet. Another said it reminded him of the Flintstone's car.
Well, it wasn't as bad an experience as I expected it to be. But I'm sure glad I've been assigned the Mercedes C300 for the weekend.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
lazyhater says:
02:09 PM, 06/13/08
The Smart sucks.
Yes I am a hater....haha....
The Toyota IQ is gonna rock it!
hola_dan says:
02:10 PM, 06/13/08
hahahahahaha what a great post!!!
"...I felt like I was hatching out of an egg"
i hope you post on the c300 after this weekend.
lazyhater says:
02:18 PM, 06/13/08
yeah I am hungry for a C300 post, I want to bagggggg.....haha..
louiswei says:
03:03 PM, 06/13/08
I think the iQ is going to be better than Smart, that's given if Toyota can keep the price around Smart's range. One major benefit would be the 2+1+kid seating compare to Smart's 2 people only cabin.
carmizvi says:
03:08 PM, 06/13/08
The iQ even has a shot at being reliable...something I fear the Smart will never be.
lazyhater says:
03:17 PM, 06/13/08
Toyota vs. MB, who's gonna win?
It is not even a question.
The Smart is way overprice, the iQ will be cheaper for sure.
firstwagon says:
03:40 PM, 06/13/08
"The iQ even has a shot at being reliable...something I fear the Smart will never be."
Actually they have been very reliable so far (we've had them since 2005). Really hold their value too.
http://www.buysell.com/classifieds/Results/2005_Import_Cars/BC/2104/1/false/keyword/qu+cname+r+class+1_Pg+rw+pshcat/smart.html?CTAction=RefineByCategory
altimadude00 says:
06:52 PM, 06/13/08
One thing the Smart will never do is kick up dust at it's rear wheels. Sadly even the Flintstone's car has it beat in this area. (see picture)
By the way, I never knew Fred's ride was right hand drive. Did he import it from England?
stephen987 says:
06:54 PM, 06/13/08
If Toyota could send us the Aygo, or Ford could send us an updated Ka, the Smart would disappear from our shores within a couple of months.
slickersdrip says:
07:50 PM, 06/13/08
I see Smart cars around Austin all the time. I don't have any of those three reactions... I just treat them as other cars on the road while questioning the logic of anyone who has bought one for any reason other than a "look at me!" attitude.
audisport says:
07:00 AM, 06/14/08
I fall in to the fourth group of Smart spectators. The " Why would anyone buy a Smart car instead of a Honda Fit or Civic" group. I understand the appeal of the size of the car if you live in a large city, but where can you take advantage of that here in America? You still have to park in regular sized parking spots. For it's size and output, the Smart fortwo should seem to offer much better fuel economy. Ill take a Mini Cooper over one any day.
ewilfong says:
10:21 AM, 06/14/08
"other than a "look at me!" attitude."
Well, non-Texans may not think it, but Austin is fast becoming the LA of Texas in many respects.
slickersdrip says:
12:07 PM, 06/14/08
ewilfong- you said it. Just yesterday I spotted two Maserati Quattroportes, an S65, a Gallardo, and four Bentley's... that was just driving to the mall.
I feel like Austin is slipping away.
carmizvi says:
06:46 PM, 06/15/08
Firstwagon: There aren't enough Smarts on Canadian roads to serve as a statistically valid sample. But Daimler's record in recent years falls far short of Toyota's: I'd feel far safer putting my money into a Toyota-engineered vehicle than a Daimler-built one. Call me an anti-snob, I guess, but I value my money, not the cachet on the hood.
I think the move to a larger gas engine for the intro to the American market was a bad idea. It's significantly more fuel-thirsty than the CDI unit on sale in Canada previously, and gives fuel (sorry) to Yaris-Fit comparos. The diesel unit was in its own league. Now? Not so much.