I took a picture of this car while in Sweden. It's called the smart car; and I just thought my vette was small!

While in Sweden, I actually saw 2 - C5's, and about 4 - C3 vettes. With their gas prices, I'm not sure I would be driving a vette!

 

We were in Italy and Monaco last November and they were all over the place. Haven't seen any stateside, though. In my entire 10 days in Italy, we didn't see a single Vette. I was kinda' surprised to see this one in Moscow a couple years ago:

 

What is really cool about the Smart car is the way they sell 'em. Swatch ( the watch company ) markets them, and they do it just like watches - I kid you not.

While driving down the German Autobahn last year, We saw the a dealership. Out front is the "lot" - which is basically a 7 tier, 4 sided, glass enclosure with a lift inside. You walk around the outside of this "car case", choose which one ya want, and the lift goes and gets it, lowers it to the ground, and you drive away - just like a Swatch watch.

Color choice is not important, because you can simply snap on different color panels - just like a Swatch watch.

Here is a picture of a dealership - what a hoot

http://images1.smart.com/images/prod...Center_000.jpg


[Modified by sray454, 8:19 AM 5/24/2002]

 

Is that the French car? Unlikely to see one in the U.S. because they are not approved for our roads. If that is the same car I read an interesting article about all the hassles Sally Jesse Raphael went thru to bring one into the country. She bought it on a whim while in Paris - put it on her Amex, yes, like a Swatch! :) MJ

 

Theres a bunch of those little cars driving around here in Sweden.They are kinda cool.Yes,the gas prices here in sweden are high,(i kidd you not),but its a small price to pay when youre sittin`in the vette and open the BB up.. :cheers:

 

If that is the 'smart car' I will take a 'dumb car' please :jester

 

Smart Car..........every glove-box should have one :jester
easier to use than the spare tire. :lol: :lol:

Rick

 

I remember this car from back in Austria... Its a french car - a Renault!!!

:cheers:

Olivier

 

I do, but I'm a little bit crazy :D

Here's a short convertibel:



[Modified by Lasse, 6:23 PM 5/24/2002]

 

:U

 

Woow, a sign of the times.

 

It's indeed called a Smart, they're available in normal, targa & convertible. They're 2 seater cars. The car is built by.. Mercedes Benz (Daimler Chrysler) :eek: so it's defenitely NOT a french car!

Marck

 

I have an actual dealer brochure that a forum member brought back from London a couple of months ago.

599cc motor
50-60 mpg.
Turbo charged Mercedes-Benz engine.

He was told that they would be in the U.S. in 2003 or 2004.
More info at www.thesmart.co.uk

Not for me.....I'll keep my "dumb" cars. :yesnod: :yesnod:

 

Yes, I saw them in Paris two summers ago. It is a Chrysler/Daimler product. In Paris they park them by hand because space is at a minimum: they pick them up and put them laterally into any space available. I heard of this but did not believe it until I saw it done!

 

The "Smart" is build by MCC (Micro Compact Cars) - a joint venture of Daimler Chrysler and Hayek (which has meanwhile being bought out by DC).

The MCC plant is located in Hambach, France, just some minutes behind the German/French border. They built the plant out of the nothing and even layed new roads there.

The car has a 36.6 Cubic inch engine that is turbocharged and pumps put 45 or 55 HP depending on the Chip.
A Diesel version, turbocharged, is available too.

The body styles are Coupe, Convertible. The Targa has a Glass roof.
Meanwhile a roadster version is planned for 2004 and a limited edition of 2000 Smart Crossblade is available currently.
You can interchange the body panels - you will have a new colored car for approx. 1000 $ in 2 hrs - including the old body panels......

The tricky thing on this car is the length - exactly 2.5 m - that is exactly the maximum width for german road cars.
So you can see some smarts parked in the smallest parking spots at 90° angle......(and we germans HAVE small parking spots!!!)

Another interesting feature of the Smart is the semi automatic shifting - also available with shift paddles on the wheel like a Ferrari.....
The car has a 6 (!) Speed semi-auto Gearbox.

Its technically very sophisticated and very ridgid. It can handle a front-to-front crash with a Mercedes S-Class and the Smart passengers will most likely survive the crash.

No doubt I enjoy my Corvette more than a Smart, but its a funny car and was designed for urban purposes - but meanwhile it reached cult-status in the old world.
The cars are even exported to Japan and a lot of other countries.

Its not a bargain buy, being priced at well over 10.000 $, but the people accept it very well here and you can see them crawling on the roads more often nowadays.
The annual volume of production is some over 100 K p.a.

 

:cool:

 

Look what I saw in Key West.







[Modified by Indy Year 25, 9:56 PM 5/24/2002]


[Modified by Indy Year 25, 9:59 PM 5/24/2002]

 

You should see the new BMW motorbike :smash: :crazy:

 

:eek:

 

Smart car,funny.
I was very close to buying one,just for city use,but I got Smart.....

I had a few testdrives,and it looks much better then it drives.Not to fast either,top speed is 85 mph,governed.

I think 70% of the Smarts we see here are used as driving billboards for various companies.