OK, if today is Short Car Day, I had to go out and take pictures of a Smart car, the shortest car you can buy in the US today, and probably the shortest car ever sold here in any volume. This is a new 2012 Smart Fortwo, 106″ long on a 73.5″ wheelbase. Sadly no first-gen ’98-’07 Smarts are in walking distance today. So here you go Curbside Cognescenti, have at it. More pictures and a video follow…..
Here is the first-generation Smart car, only 98 inches long. That’s less than the wheelbase of a 1950 Rambler!
It certainly has a cheerful face. Some would say the right face for a clown car.
Really fun dashboard. I love the buttons on that full-width kneebar, and those gauge pods on top knock me out.
You’d think a car this small would be great on gas. It does turn out to be the best gasoline-powered non-hybrid: US EPA says 34 city / 38 highway, premium fuel. But there are plenty of much bigger cars (Fiesta Sonic Fit Yaris Versa) that come darned close.
Somebody drove one into a concrete barrier at 70 mph (remotely of course) and Daimler’s structural engineering is most impressive. The interior safety pod remains secure, and the doors even open and close. But what’s the peak deceleration with so little crush space? I think you’d need to use a squeegee on the occupants.
Obviously if you must drive in a European city, the Smart car is very handy. I’ve seen one pull a u-turn in a two lane city street in Portland.
And it certainly does make a point in North American traffic.
But really, the great majority of our driving is on freeways, highways and wide suburban roads. I wonder how many American drivers even remember how to parallel park. What’s the point?
I just never saw the point of these, but then I live in the midwestern US. It always seemed to me that the only reasons for a car like this are 1) it’s really cheap, 2) it gets really great gas mileage, or 3) its small footprint allows you to take advantage of parking when space is dear.
The Smart does not meet either of the first two criteria, certainly when weighted for its small size. The third just does not apply in most of the US. It might make sense in New York or Boston, but those two cities (and others like them) do not make for much of a market.
There are a few of them running around Indiana, but they seem to be purchased as much for novelty (or for snob appeal so that people can say “it’s made by Mercedes) but again, that’s not many people. I am glad that the car is there for those who enjoy them (choice is good) but it is not and has never been on my car-bucket list.
My favorite thing about Smarts is that when you cover the “a” you get Smrt, which mean death in Serbian. Otherwise I find it pointless because a Honda Fit costs the same, gets equal or better mileage and has a back seat and driving manners that are a pleasure instead of a punishment. That said the Scion iQ I herded a round a parking lot was fun in a golf cart sort of way.
Don’t build the bell curve yet.
95% of my driving — in terms of times — is on city streets. I see some smartcars here in DC – the former mayor is a fan — and we are getting them as a zipcar type solution soon.
Regarding parking, I’ve heard visibility is not great, and as long as your city uses meters (and designated spaces) versus multi-meter spots there isn’t much of an advantage.
I’ve often looked at a space and wondered if a smartcar/mini 500 would fit.
This pic was taken in San Francisco. A city renowned for its predatory parking enforcemnt. Official city policy to significantly undersupply parking spaces, and there are many many blocks where much of the curb is useless for parking normal cars because of the driveway spacing.
(You have to view the pic full size to see it, but that’s a driveway in front and a wheelchair ramp for the crosswalk behind.)
The whole point of a Smart (or any other micro-sized city car):
Ha!
“A driveway begins at the curb cut, or the point at which the curb begins to slope downward toward street level. A vehicle parked within curb cuts can be cited and towed. Even partial encroachments into the driveway area can result in a tow.”
Even your Smart will not save you from the parking nazis in SF, don’t get me started
At least the smart has some style, like it or hate it. I see a red one on my way home a few times a week going in the opposite direction on I-275 toward Kentucky. I don’t believe I’d like to see what it’s like to drive or ride in one on the highway. I’m sure around town it would be a hoot, though.
Regardless, this is a future “CC”!
One got rear ended by a honda accord (late ’90’s model) at the head of our driveway. It got bumped quite hard and the accord pushed it a few yards. The damage to the smart car was very minimal, the rear “bumper” plastic was dislodged (but not obviously cracked) on one side. The front left headlight area of the accord was badly smashed, light gone, fender crumpled. The lady driver of the smart car was shook up, perhaps whiplashed? The teen in the accord was completely at fault and (understatement alert) quite chagrined.
alistair
Think about what the driver of the car about to read-end somebody typically does… panic brakes. Nose of the car drops to the front bump stops, and the bumper underrides the rear bumper of the car hit. I once got rear-ended with about a 5mph speed differential. My Contour got a scratched and slightly cracked rear bumper skin. The E30 BMW that hit me had its nose completely trashed. Hood, both fenders, both headlights, and grille all bent/broken. Bumper looked unused…
You’re absolutely right about the nose dip on the braking car. But crikey, the damage comparison between the two cars was interesting.
alistair
The diesel ones sold in Canada are much more interesting than the gas powered ones. Way better mileage too. Shame about the horrible gearbox though.
What’s a shame is that they stopped selling the diesel ones here in the Great White North as soon as Smart was launched in the US. I guess they wanted to save costs or something.
EDIT: After looking at Wikipedia, it turns out the diesel engine was canned for emissions reasons. The timing was a coincidence.
“But really, the great majority of our driving is on freeways, highways and wide suburban roads.”
Not back East.
“I wonder how many American drivers even remember how to parallel park.”
Every day. Every. Single. Stinkin’. Day. In full-size rwd US land yacht.
We see a handful of them around Klamath Falls. Most are city cars, but one
damned foolbrave soul takes it at least 15 miles east of town. Driving one of those in our crosswinds does not strike me as any fun.I’ve seen them as tow-behinds for Class A motorhomes. I could understand that. OTOH, I’ve seen the odd full-sized SUV (think Yukon) as tow-behinds. Go figure.
There are one or two of these things locally I dont think they have caught on.
I have to laugh when I see one of these on a freeway. Europeans seem to consider this strictly a city car and wouldn’t dream of driving it on a highway. The center of Paris was full of them when I was there 10 years ago. In those cramped city centers you take whatever space you can fit into – no parking meters. If someone has seen them on European highways, let me know. I never did.
There are a few of them here in Portland, but I suspect the novelty has worn off.
My first-generation Insight gets way better mileage and I think it’s a much more usable car, space and otherwise. Parking is easy, too.
“Europeans seem to consider this strictly a city car and wouldn’t dream of driving it on a highway.”
Not necessarily. On a trip to Bavaria in 2002, I saw the occasional Smart on the Autobahn heading towards Munich. Strictly a right-lane car, though.
As a side note, I don’t know if the museum still exists (it was only open occasionally in 2002 and I never got the chance to visit), but in the village of Amerang there was a car museum. Visible through the windows was a nice collection of euro-kei cars. There was a Smart dealership in Wasserberg-am-Inn, too.
Can someone explain WHY the Smart does not get 50 plus MPG? Is it the weight of the structure required to make it somewhat crashworthy? Is it that the engine is bigger than it would have to be if we were willing to tolerate slower performance? Is it the gearing? It really makes no sense, and of course the thing won’t sell if you can get a Fit, Yaris, Sonic, even a Corolla with similar MPG and a back seat and real trunk.
Highway mileage is mostly a function of aerodynamics. There’s just no way to get a phone booth to cut through the air cleanly, and lengthing it would defeat the purpose of building it.
What killed the Smart car for U.S. consumers was 1. high price relative to Korean cars 2. lousy gas mileage (the old Geo Metro got 40+ mpg, and my buddy’s Prius easily gets 50 mpg whilst carrying 4 people) 3. a crappy gear box, neither auto nor manual, but rather, the worst of both… Smart could have saved the ForTwo if: 1. they brought in a diesel or hybrid version 2. they offered a version that could carry 4 human beings 3. they lowered the price to be competitive with Korean and Japanese cars 5. they offered a six speed manual and a real automatic. As it is, the Smart wasn’t thought through well enough, before bringing it to the North American market… which is too bad, because it is a very cute, very stylish small car.
My grandfather had a BMW Isetta micro car for a few months back in the late 50s. The steering wheel was attached to the front door which was the entire front of the vehicle. It was tiny. Wikipedia says 90 in long 54 in wide. I remember riding around the neighborhood in it, but to go father than that, my grandfather preferred his Cadillac. Fortunately, we lived to tell the tale.
Like the car itself, the smart’s market demographic is small (it will never sell in substantial quantity), but the niche exists.
Essentially, the smart’s practical (i.e., non-toy) applications are limited to major metropolitan city dwellers where parking space is at a premium, who don’t want to take public transportation or a cab, and have the means to afford the luxury of owning a vehicle in the city.
In that regard, it’s rather like the Jeep Wrangler, another specialized vehicle that can serve as normal transportation (as most consumers see it) in a pinch, but that’s really not its mission.
An even better example might be owning a private jet as opposed to flying commercial aviation.
That last picture – is that the south end of PA Turnpike 43? – is truly an exclamation point for this story.
Rural PA, like Upstate NY, is not as desolate as many parts of the Heartland but it’s still a long way from Megalopolis.
And IMO the only point for a Smart, especially given their mediocre gas mileage (for its size) and weak transmissions, is if it’s the owner’s personal choice.
I’ll defend that choice to the death.
Just don’t go telling me I’m a selfish pig destroying the planet simply because I own a larger car.
It’s a car…not a four-wheeled lecture.
Ditto Prius/Volt.
Smart for some…but not for me.
I see the advantage of cars like this, but if it has to be your only set of wheels and you need to go considerable distances frequently, This would not be it.
Heck, this cars previous ENTIRE length is slightly longer than the wheelbase of the Fiat 500 and its total length is 140″.
But if I had to go really small, but needed a more highway friendly car, the Fiat would be my choice as it feels very planted at freeway speeds and can keep up no problem.
I see these often in Seattle, on occasion on I-90, heading back into Seattle, most likely from Bellevue in rush hour traffic and that means it’s been on the highway no longer than 30 minutes, unless traffic is horrible and it takes one over an hour to go the same distance.
I have to agree, some of the design elements, especially inside are nice and eye catching but I find it not suited for much outside of city/commuter car for shorter distances.