George

I was in Germany the first two weeks in May and fell in love with the Smart Car. Does anyone have any idea what it cost? It could handle the price of gas in this country.

x

I thought the Smart car was electric.

dorothy

<BR>We saw Smartcars all over Holland last month and also were very interested. They are not available here yet, as I understand, but might be. I found information by going to www.smartcar-uk.com. This tells you the price in the UK as well as the various models, etc,etc.

hooty

I heard a little tale you might be interested in. Sally Jesse Rafael (the talk show lady) bought one in France and shipped it back to the states. Apparently she was one of the first, because it was stuck in customs for months, while the U.S. government tried to figure out if it met all the standards. Don't know if this is true...

John Gallagher

Are you all having a laugh? The Smart car is hardly a smart idea. It is supposed to be practical, but lets be honest - it looks ridiculous and is only useful if you only happen to have one friend. And, as it is only half the size of a normal car, shouldn't it cost half the price?

Joe

I saw them in Amsterdam and Germany on my trip last month. I even took a picture of one, because I thought it was so unique. It makes perfect sense for a city car, but I'd be leary of driving one on the freeway with 18 wheelers flying by.

Jaime

YES! I was in Germany this March and was absolutely fascinated by this car (because it was so tiny!). I got some brochures to bring back to the U.S. - if I remember correctly, the Smart costs between $13,000 and $15,000 USD.

Janice

Yes, the Sally Jesse Raphael story is true - but it did take her a very long time to get the car through customs. Living in a big city, one of those cars would make a ton of sense - save gas, easy to park, and you never get to go more than 30 mph most of the time anyway...

Beth Anderson

I thought the Smart car was kinda cute (I took a picture of one at a gas station in Paris) BUT I think it would be suicidal to drive one in the States. <BR> <BR>SUV-1, Smart-0 <BR> <BR>I heard it was a joint venture with Swatch and Mercedes. wow. <BR> <BR>Beth <BR> <BR>ps. I also saw a Mercedes in France (Normandy), that was not much bigger than the Smart car. as the anecdote goes, they won't sell that Mercedes in Sweden because it would not pass the "Elk Test". I don't think I need to explain what the Elk Test might consist of!

Myriam

In Belgium the Smart costs between 325000 BF (abt. 7740 US$) for the basic version called 'city coupé' and 405000 BF (abt. 9655 US$) for the 'turbo smart & passion'. <BR>As far as I know the car is developped by Mercedes in joint venture with Swatch (watches). <BR>It is becoming more and more popular around the cities because it is handy in manoeuvring, it takes very little space and is very economical. It is not an electrical car like some of you think but it drives on gasoline or even diesel. <BR>

Alyssa

We were in Europe earlier this month and were fascinated by the Smart car. It's hard to believe how small that car is. It wouldn't be that practical for me, but I don't think it had a problem going fast we saw several whizzing by us on the autobahn.

Terry

One of our first discoveries upon arriving in Paris last month, was the Smart Car. Just when we thought European cars couldn't get any smaller! Took several pictures of it during the course of our stay, but our favorite souvenir is the die-cast Smart Car we purchased from a charming "Mom and Pop" toy store on Rue de Grenelle, about a block and a half from Rue Cler. It came in all the same colors we saw on the streets and even has motorized action, all for only 30FF. Yes, we bought it for our son, but I think I enjoy it just as much.