The Smart Car
 

We have seen many on the roads of France. Tonight on 60 minutes, Andy Roonie drove one around. They are not available here. Do any on our French posters have one? They sell, roonry said, for 15,000 dollars. Does anyone remember the Messerschmit(?)they had only three wheels and were the fad here in Boston til after awhile, the closing of the clubs at curfew brought out the pranksters who lifted the car up and would move them on the sidewalks or some ridiculous place. The same thing happened with the simple scooters but they were mostly stolen.

We saw one of those three-wheeled cars last year in England. Had never seen one before. Someone also told me the Smart Cars are available in California. Don't know if that's true or not. :)

Smart Cars are not available in California, but three wheel Sparrow cars are made here and are legal to drive on freeways:
http://www.sparrowelectriccars.com/about.html

Doesn't the Smart Car have 4 wheels? I saw one in the Netherlands in 2001 and thought they were a perfect car for two. Didn't ride in it tho, just took pictures and gawked at it. Peace.

Robyn

yes, the smart car has four.

we saw it too. Mimi! I loved when he perpendicular parked!! I've seen them all over the UK and France and for city driving, I think they'd be great.This country better find a way to conserve natural resources. Every time I see a Hummer I want to chastise the driver for gluttony!

I do remember the Messerschmitt..we must be in the same age group!!!!!

:)

judy, there's an old saying, "just because the lights are out, doesn't mean the current is turned off."

An agency I onced worked with had a Smart Car for its company car. It was a good city runabout car, but it's pretty noisy and there's no storage room to speak of. The Ford Ka is not much bigger yet is more comfortable and practical, IMHO.

When walking down rue Jacob which is not the widest street in Paris, we would count all the little Smarts parked along the sidewalks. I thought they were adorable and looked almost like you could bring it into the house when you got home :)
I cannot imagine driving one anywhere but in a European city, here on the mega highways of the US, I would be terrified of being squashed by an SUV.
When James Lipton ( Actors Studio) did an anniversary show in Paris, which was also a show where he received an award from the French, he drove a Smart ( or as I call them, a Smartie:)

btike, the ones I have seenn werenot noisy? I wouldnt like them if they were.

They were noisy on the inside, especially once you got up to a decent speed.
Wasn't it Trent Lott who waved a picture around of the Smart Car during a Senate speech, calling them the "purple people eater"?

My friend and I rented a Smart Car this last May and had lots of fun driving it all over the Sorrento area. It is not as noisy as a VW bug and drives really well once you figure it out.

I loved it and would rent one again, but not for the autostrada!

SeaUrchin: Am envious. These cars have been the hit of our family vacations--and all we do is count them! Love Scarlett's comment about bringing it into the house. It does look as though it should be a family pet.

For those that are interested in what these cars look like - I found the below listed link online. Seems there are plans to market these in the U.S.

We were in Rome last month and saw these very cool (and practical - at least for Rome) all over the place.

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp

Ken

We had a teeny weeny Honda in the mid 70's. They came in orange (ours), yellow, blue, etc. They had a very large back window. There were several in town. After about 3 years they all had duct tape holding in the back window (ours, too). Had a serpintine belt that did everything under the hood. When it broke the little dear shut down. Dreadful chore to replace. We sold it. New owner burned up the engine on I-75.

My 15-year old daughter loves Smart cars! She wanted to bring one home in her suitcase from her Italian trip. When my parents went to Italy last year, they brought her back a Matchbox-sized model of one. She still wants a "real" size Smart car, though.

I saw one in Florida while we were on vacation, and my husband saw one this weekend in our neighborhood, without doors.

It cracked me up to see those Smart cars in Rome squeezed into the teeniest of parking spaces, parking not lengthwise along the curb like regular cars, but at right angles to it!

I heard that Smart cars are going to be available in the US - is that true?
( or maybe it was Swatch cars? )

They're so cute, but I don't think they'd fare too well in a collision with an SUV.

There were plans to sell the Smart car in the U.S. but those plans fell through.

I read that Smart Cars can't be sold in the US because they don't meet fuel and safety regulations here. The good news was that Daimler Chrysler (sp?) was working on it.

Because I don't think the car would hold a week's worth of groceries for my four boys, I'm afraid I can't buy one until I 'retire'.