Sweet: Four Door Smart Car...

[dd74]

Whoa! I'm liking this little deal. Finally a four-door Smart Car.



http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/234332/smarts_fortwo_is_ready_to_grow.html

[URY914]

Death trap....

[911Rob]

Ohh, Ohhh a dream come true!

[the]

"Smart" cars had their brief shining moment here in the US, when their introduction coincided with $4 gas. Lots of people thought they were cute at first.

But they are done in the US. The novelty has worn off, and IMO they will be shut down here in the US within a couple of years.

(Even if gas goes to $5, they won't work here, because oddly, their mileage isn't that great).

[Rikao4]

my dogs would hump that..
SAM may reach for those mirrors and really howl..


Rika

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by the

"Smart" cars had their brief shining moment here in the US, when their introduction coincided with $4 gas. Lots of people thought they were cute at first.

But they are done in the US. The novelty has worn off, and IMO they will be shut down here in the US within a couple of years.

(Even if gas goes to $5, they won't work here, because oddly, their mileage isn't that great).

not true...one of my manager has only 3 more months on the waiting list till his name comes up. the are getting popular here is seattle. city dwellers and street parking are the plus i see them for.

dont know about the millage...

not my cup of tea anyway.
Panamera looks better to me

[trekkor]

Reminds me of a big golf cart.


KT

[rammstein]

I failed to see the excitement when there wasn't a back seat, and you can get better mileage from a Jetta Diesel. I still don't quite get the appeal. Now with the rear engine, rear drive, if they put a bunch of power in it, that would be interesting. There are videos of Smarts with motorcycle engines doing some pretty fun-looking donuts. In the 4-door, that might just get my blood moving.

[dd74]

Traffic barely moves in L.A. I'd think driving a Porsche in rush hour traffic is not nearly as enlightened as driving a Smart Car in that same congestion.

Anyway: here you go Rammy:

[nostatic]

I almost got sideswiped by a Smart on the 10 freeway. The bozo didn't realize that traffic actually goes over 55mph sometimes and decided that he needed to change lanes - never mind that I was there on my motorcycle...

I've hated them ever since.

[Rick Lee]

Am I the only one who thinks the name "Smart" anything implies other brands of the same thing are supposed to be stupid and am a little insulted by it? I don't see what's smart about a "Smart" Car. Does it have a smarter computer? It costs about the same as my bike, gets worse mileage, isn't even close to as fast or as fun, you can't lane split with it or park on the sidewalk and you're just as dead if you get hit in one. The only benefit I see is some more comfort in extreme weather than on a bike. I'll take my wife's Mini any day over a "Smart" Car.

[the]

If you even get the chance to drive one, do it.

I drove my neighbor's and was very surprised. It looks like it might be a mini version of a Mini, but that is the furthest from what it is. It's more like the maxi version of a riding mower. Everything about the drive is unpleasant.

I think my neighbor must agree - he drove that thing every day in the first few months, now I hardly ever see it leave the house.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by URY914

Death trap....

Guess again.

They have a very good crash test record. Surprisingly good.

I'd much rather have an A-series MB, but those are not imported.

[creaturecat]

Smart cars everywhere up here. Waiting lists. Absolutely great city cars.
Europe figured it out the small city car thing about 20 or 30 yrs ago.
Canada is slowly catching on, buyer demographics; seemingly the hip early adopters and the retired.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Guess again.

They have a very good crash test record. Surprisingly good.

I'd much rather have an A-series MB, but those are not imported.

The Smart Car Diesel is hella cool. 60 mpg.

A series is cool too...

Can't both be imported used?

[Zeke]

I think the little rascals will keep selling in the urban areas and retirement/artsy communities like Sedona AZ.

[poorsche930]

I wouldn't buy one, but we need more choices. If Smart continues to sell a ton of cars, it might in some way entice other euro manufacturers to return to the U.S. market. Alfa, Fiat, Peugeot, etc. Maybe I'm reaching, but were missing out on some really cool stuff.

[tchanson]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Guess again.

They have a very good crash test record. Surprisingly good.

And I'd suspect they're quite a bit safer than a 35 year old 914, if concerns over "death traps" is a reasoned rationale.






Tim

[stealthn]

How many clowns will it hold now that it's a 4 door?

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by stealthn

How many clowns will it hold now that it's a 4 door?

One really big one.