The Smart Car comes to America
This month the micro ‘Smart Car’ has gone on sale in the good ‘ol US of A. The Smart car has been available in Europe, Canada and I believe Japan for some time and apparently sell quite well in these countries and I think it will be interesting to see what the American people make of them.
With the price of fuel, or should I say ‘gas’ at an all time high these types of cars seem like the logical choice for city commuting, but unlike Tata’s Nano car, the Smart car’s pricing may influence people away from them and towards something that offers a bit more for their dollar. Only time will tell.
For the U.S. market there are two versions on offer, the Smart ForTwo Pure and the Smart ForTwo Passion. Quirky names for quirky cars! The Pure is the base model, selling for around $11,500 excluding Tax and destination charges and the Passion starts at $13,590 and includes a cabriolet model.
Both models come equipped with a 3 cylinder engine producing 71hp and five-speed semi-automatic transmission. The Smart car will get around 40 miles to the gallon and it is recommended that they run on premuim unleaded.
Although not available for sale in the U.S., there is also a diesel model of the Smart car which reportedly achieved 70 miles to the gallon from it’s 45hp, 3 cylinder, common-rail engine. This engine has been the only engine available to Canadian buyers of the Smart car, who first saw the car late in 2004.
I think one of the big issues with ‘micro’ cars is safety and although I will probably forever be a doubter of their ‘crash-worthiness’ at least with the Smart car there is front and lateral airbags, ABS brakes and a electronic stability system. The driver and passenger are also enclosed in a ‘Tridion’ steel safety cell for further protection in the event of a crash.
The really quirky feature is the plastic, flexible, scratch resistant body panels that can be easily changed when you get sick of the one colour! It is no wonder that the Smart car has been likened to the Swatch watch of all those years ago. Stock up on a few different coloured panels and as they say, a change is as good as a holiday!
Whether or not the Smart car will be a success in the U.S. is anyone’s guess. I believe that with people becoming more acustomed to thinking of the environment and having to tighten the screws on their weekly budget, in the near future cars like this will become more common-place. I can see the biggest market being people that would like a second car that will do the daily commute to work while leaving the gas-guzzler for weekend and long distance trips.
What do you think? Could you see yourself scooting around in one of these, or does the safety issue with small cars still scare people away? You’re comments would be appreciated.
