Look what showed up this afternoon in front of our neighbor’s house: two of the shortest cars in the land. The Fiat 500 measures 139″, the Smart 106″, for a grand total of 245 inches. So just how long is that, in Curbside Classic terms?
I knew it would take a bit more than a Plain-Jane Caddy to make 245″. But a 1969 Fleetwood 75 hits the mark perfectly. And before you go ragging on the Smart, I did happen to talk to the owner, a young woman who’s had it four years, loves it, has driven it all over the country, and has not had any problems with it. OK; now you can start ragging on the Smart.
I have a friend that owned a Smart. I was not a fan. He traded it in recently for a Scion iQ. I consider the Scion to be a much better vehicle.
Also, every time we take a trip in the Scion I insist on using the rear seat (something the Smart did not offer). It actually works as advertised although getting rear-ended by a Tundra probably wouldn’t be much fun.
I think the 500 is a neat little car. We just recently got a Fiat dealer here in the Quad Cities. I had been seeing more and more 500s in town and was wondering where they were coming from. The dealership actually used to sell Hummers–quite a change! I’ve already visited to get a brochure, and they had a black Abarth Cabrio in the showroom, a model that I didn’t know existed. I’ll probably have to try one out when the warmer weather returns, just to see what they’re like.
Funny…the Fiat dealer here in Northwest Arkansas occupies the former showroom of the Hummer dealer, as well.
Those 2 little cars would be perfect mounted on the roof of the Cadillac, from where they could be deployed as liftboats etc…! Or, maybe mount one each side of the Cadillac, acting as outriggers for added stability? 😉
Only if you then mount a JC Whitney ocean liner horn…
Gee, what kind of masochist would drive a Smart Car all over the country? My local mall here in Santa Monica had an exhibit of Fiat 500s recently and I was impressed at how much they offer for such a small amount of money. I sat in one at the LA Auto Show, and at 6′ 1 1/2″, I was reasonably comfortable. Clear choice for me.
After reading the Car and Driver road test of a first gen Smart I was intrigued. John Phillips took that car on a tour of the Oklahoma Panhandle to get a feel for how the car played in that area of the country. He gave the Smart a fairly good review. I always liked it but again, us Americanos get short changed by not getting the European Mercedes Diesel as an option, thanks to the EPA. 70 miles per gallon goes a long way towards easing this nations energy crunch; as such, I’m trying to do my part with my 2000 New Beetle TDI! 🙂 I can’t see how the Scion IQ betters the Smart Fortwo, rear seat or not. It just reeks of cheapness, from the TV dinner-like flex of it’s steel body panels to the overtly cheap looking interior plastics. I’ve yet to see one in my travels in this, the most populous state in the country! The big deal breakers for the Smart are the goofy manual-o-matic transmission, the lack of a high economy diesel option and the need to run premium in a car that gets only mileage in the high thirties.
I love that 500, too. But I would love this car better if it too had a high mileage small diesel. Always wondered how the Smart looked alongside the 500 as they are of similar size. Thanks, Paul, for this interesting perspective, back to back!
I agree with pretty much all of that… if the smart didn’t have such a weak engine/transmission combination I’d be a lot more into it, but the way they’re set up for the US seems full of all sorts of strange contradictions to me.
In Europe you can get the Fiat 500 with a diesel, although the engine I’d really love to see them offer here is the 875cc “TwinAir” – a turbocharged inline TWO cylinder that can get up to 65mpg highway while still making 84hp, which is totally decent for a car like this. That’s amazing and truly out-of-the-box thinking… if that was offered here and I was buying a 500 I’d have a really hard time choosing even the Abarth model over it. A modern twin in a passenger car is just too friggen cool…
I also have yet to see a Scion iQ and I live someplace where 500s and smarts parked side-by-side are an extremely common sight.
If the TwinAir ever shows up here, I’m getting one. Sounds like a blast.
Agreed. I did a post on that a while back: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/three-cylinders-bring-on-the-two-cylinder-fiat-500-twinair/
Not that long ago I read an interview with someone at Fiat (forget where) who said they were aware of and very surprised by the strong interest in the TwinAir 500 on this side of the Atlantic… but that they were currently only planning on adding an EV model to the US lineup. No diesels or two-cylinders – lame. I guess it’s a good sign that they know we want it, at least.
I’ve never owned a new car but that’s something I’d have a very hard time not buying. I’m already very tempted by the 500 as it is, rented one a few months ago and it was the most fun car I’d driven in forever.
Not wanting to be picky, but… try designing a two cylinder engine where the cylinders aren’t inline! 🙂
Huh? There are lots of V-twins and boxer twins out there. Check out a Harley-Davidson or old BMW some time! Plenty of cars from half a century ago and further back as well.
The only right way to design a twin is as a boxer: much more balanced than in-line, which requires balance shafts to not vibrate like mad.
I’ve always read that the smoothest twin is a 90 degree V.
Both the boxer twin and 90 degree V twin have pros and cons, and neither is of course perfectly balanced in every way.
The boxer has primary balance, as well as firing balance, as the two cylinders largely balance each other out. But it does have an unbalanced moment on the crankshaft, because the two cylinders are somewhat offset.
With a proper counterweight, a 90 degree V twin has perfect primary and secondary balance, but of course, not firing balance.
Take your pick…But I happen to have a particular fondness for the boxer twin. And historically, it has been used to great success, obviously.
Plus they just look so dang cool…
Having owned both a single cam Ducati and an airhead (/6) BMW, I’ll go with Ducati’s solution any day. And yes, the motor felt smoother. Both were 900’s (906 Paso and a R90/6).
Just a guess, but I suspect that Fiat is limiting the engines offerings in the U.S. to fairly common stuff, at least until they see how things go when Fiats are maintained by typical dealer service department in this country.
More than likely it also makes things simpler when it comes to stocking parts, training service personnel, and so forth…not to mention the cost of an additional EPA certification.
I don’t feel much like badmouthing either of them for being small. Drove vw’s for years and grew tired of defending that. I just saw a smart entering the freeway the other day and was just amazed seeing how small it was. Sort of like the film groundhog day. That happens every time I see one.
For 90% of my driving the Smart would be more than adequate. The other 10% when I leave the 2 land blacktop and go on the Houston freeways is why I don’t think I am interested. The cube has more than enough power and speed plus room for grandkids. Think I will stay right there.
That is a pretty unique find and a good comparison with the caddy.
The proper use of a Smart:
Friends of ours have a Smart; their previous car was almost as abbreviated … a 2 door Geo Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick or 1st gen Vitara). As for the 500, I’ve seen some in trim and colors that border on Broughamesque.
Not to pick a nit, but not quite the two shortest – the Scion iQ is much shorter than the Fiat 500 at 120.1″ total length. Makes the Fiat 500 look like a Galaxie 500 by comparison….well, almost 🙂
When I wrote that, I was pretty sure I was missing something obvious, and I knew if I was, someone here would correct me. Thanks.
The first thing I though of when you mentioned 245 inches was a Fleetwood 75 Limo. Though you can only seat 6 with 500Smart, the Fleetwood can seat up to 9.
Advantage: Fleetwood!
My problem with the Smart is that its too expensive for what you get, and that the MPG isn’t that impressive, if the Smart was like $7000 or less, then I could understand, it should be priced like what it is, the bridge between a scooter and a real car.
Which speaks of style, speed, limitless opportunity and resources? Practicality be damned, I’m taking the Fleetwood thank you. And accepting the consequences!
…here in the UK we see plenty of both, obviously – and I’d gladly trade sightings of the shorter one for Toronados and Volvo 780s. Have driven a Fiat 500 1.2 across Portugal – 63 miles per gallon!!! (my own calculation, our rental didn’t have a gauge for this) and an absolute hoot to stop and steer. And seriously tough too. We can’t have one as our son will soon be too tall for the back seat…
It is not unusual for me to see as many as four (different) Smart cars a day in the Columbus, Ohio area. I have no interest in owning one, yet I find them interesting. And, at the Columbus Auto Show this past year, I got a brief ride in a Fiat 500 in which they gave a brief yet spirited ride to demo it. It’s quite nimble and gave a pleasant and enjoyable ride. Seems like it would make a great commuter car for those who rarely though occasionally have passengers. Also, saw the Fiat 500 intro at the 2011 Detroit North American International Auto Show and took an immediate liking to it. Starting to see a few bright colored 500s on the road more often. Have also seen a couple Scion iQs around. Saw a driver (owner?) get out of one at a shopping center and the gentleman appeared to be of The Greatest Generation, in his 80’s!
I swear, it seems to me that Central Ohio has as much – if not more – automobile diversity as any place. Saw an Avanti being exercised on the highway this past summer. Often see some Shelby Cobras in the summertime, too. From time to time see a Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and other high dollar cars. BMWs, Audis and M-Bs are these days rather common. Oh, and from time to time I see people daily driving a variety of cars from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s which are still in decent shape
Your picture is backwards from the optimal configuration: Smart in front, Fiat behind, joined together into one vehicle ideal for family travel. Mom and Dad in peaceful bliss in the Smart, and four kids segregated to the Fiat in back. You can even save the expense of the DVD players because it just won’t matter if they are quiet or not. 🙂
Of course, the Fleetwood 75 could come with a divider window between front and back, accomplishing pretty much the same thing. If only GM had thought to equip the Dustbusters with divider windows, the whole history of the minivan would have been re-written.
How about offering divider windows on ALL modern minivans? It could be the next big thing!
I have a Fiat 500 that I bought new last year (2011). It’s the most fun car I’ve had in about forty years. It gets great gas mileage, drives like a sports car, I got a great price, and I customized it just the way I wanted it.
Unlike most cars today with about four exterior colors, the Fiat had a choice of 14 exterior colors and several interior color schemes. You can get leather seated heats if you want, and even backup parking sensors. I like the handsfree Bluetooth phone system and the Bose stereo with subwoofer.
The standard equipment list is awesome. At 6,000 mile, I’ve had no issues with mine, only going to the dealer for the free oil changes.
I’ve seen a couple of Smarts in my area. A little used car lot up the main street had one for sale in the summer. I stopped to look at it, a tiny little car. I’d be afraid to drive it on the highway. For around town, I’ll bet it can’t be beat.
Just don’t take it out of town.
I’ll take the bait and give the smart the beating it deserves. If you haven’t driven one yet and think the only problem is its Lilliputian dimensions, you’d be surprised how bad they really are. But first a brief digression.
Daimler is getting into the car sharing business, and they have a much more customer-friendly business model than ZipCar does. No annual fee. Just sign up and pay for the time you use. No need to reserve a car ahead of time (though you can put a ~15 minute hold on a car so that it isn’t taken out from under you while you’re walking to fetch it). You can take one-way trips (which is one the biggest deficiences with ZipCar). And at least in D.C., Daimler cut a deal with the city that allows drivers to leave the car in any legal parking space — even a metered one — at the end of their trip. Which means cars are distributed in random places all over the city, not just in designated carsharing spaces and lots.
Daimler’s “Car2Go” has more in common with the bikesharing systems popping up around the country than with ZipCar. (In fact, it makes a nice complement to bikesharing and public transit for urban-dwellers trying to go car-free).
Sounds great; what’s the catch? The catch is the only cars available are smarts. Maybe this is one way Daimler unloads its inventory of unsellable shitboxes.
Shitbox is a strong word, but this car deserves that epithet. The biggest problem is the auto-manual transmission. Lots of people used to slushboxes find reasons to gripe about newfangled auto-manuals like the one in the Focus. But the tranny in the smart is in a whole ‘nother category. The smart transmission takes at least 2-3 full seconds to shift, which wouldn’t be so bad if it were freewheeling as it shifted. Instead of freewheeling, it decelerates — a lot. It’s as if you slammed on the brakes every time you put the clutch in. And since it has a gutless little engine, it wants to downshift every time you need the car to go. Imagine pulling into an intersection, giving a car full throttle, and having the car decelerate for 2-3 seconds. Terrifying and dangerous.
The engine is not as bad as the transmission, but it’s pretty subpar, considering how refined other small engines are today. Briggs & Stratton makes engines with better NVH than this little Daimler (Mitsubishi?) three pot.
Considering that for not much more money you can get a sophisticated car like a Honda Fit, Daimler should be embarrassed.
Just saw my firs IQ today. It was doing a good job of moving down the road. Didn’t have anything to compare the size to but it just looked like a scion. Of course I like the looks of the scion. Interesting.