Rome, Italy.
Saturday, November 11, 2017.
Related:
- Short Car Day: Smart Fortwo, But Smart For You?
- CC Outtake: Smart ForTwo – Getting Into A Tight Spot.
Wordless CC Outtakes: A Smart Way To Park
– Posted on January 18, 2018
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Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should.
If cyclists have to use the street, it would not be nice having to evade this protrusion in dense traffic.
Yes and no.
I have seen some vehicles that are wider than the parking space jutting out. That is a huge headache for the trams going through the tight streets like Müllerstraße in Munich.
I don’t know… getting “doored” on a bike is pretty hideous.
Of course you should, that’s the whole point of these cars. I was just having a conversation with my son the other day, and how it was one of the reasons Smart cars aren’t great in North America. You’re not allowed to park them sideways.
Ironic, in the US the length of a Smart is nearer to the width of a ‘regular’ car than pictured above.
Given the condition of that silver hatchback beside it, I shudder to think what the Smart is going to look like shortly. (So to speak.)
That hatch is an early Audi A3, likely 20+ years old now. No surprise there seeing the condition. That said, the Citroen C4 Cactus behind the Smart is sporting the side “Airbumps” that are intended to prevent the exact damage the Audi proudly wears. Life for cars in Rome and Paris is harsh.
The big airbumps on the doors are gone, below the updated (current) C4 Cactus.
The new one looks exceptionally clean. Thanks Johannes. That said, I don’t get the love for these all that much outside of their style. How many people here know the rear door windows don’t roll down? They are only pop out vents (!). And the powertrains aren’t exactly powerful compared to what a US consumer would tolerate. To each their own, and I only say this as a guy in the USA who hears his car loving friends go nuts over these fairly often…
Its (lack of) power and the pop out vents are both non-issues for those who are in the market for this kind of vehicle or have actually bought one. Like my niece, somewhere halfway 50 and 60, who is enjoying her C4 Cactus very much.
If one wants real power so badly, PSA will gladly sell you a more conventional Peugeot 208 or 308 GTi hatchback.
Speaking of the black Citroen Cactus, it would be extremely difficult to nearly impossible for its owner to maneuver out of the space with the silver car parked so closely behind it and the Smart car jutting out to its front. As someone had stated earlier, just because you can does not mean you should. Also, how did the owner of the blue Smart in the first photo exit his or her vehicle?
I once knew someone at work who had one of those. She had to park it at the back of a regular parking lot space so people wouldn’t rear-end the car trying to park.
I saw lots of Smart cars parked this way in Rome. It’s why they’re so short. I think they just look silly in nearly all American settings, but they fit right into old European cities.
The first generation Smart was specifically designed to be able to do this legally in Germany and other European countries. It was a key part of its design. But the second and third generation have both grown in length, and at least in Germany are not legally allowed to do this anymore.
Illegal in some states and localities unless spaces are thus marked. In California, must park in direction of traffic with bith wheels 18″ or less from curb.
A guy in my street used to park his Smart like this. Very annoying, as it was protruding quite a bit. Other residents solved the problem by parking so close to him that he couldn’t enter his car anymore. After having been completely blocked like this a few times he eventually got the message.
I’d be afraid to park like this (even where legal) in a tight space if the cars to the front and rear didn’t have much space themselves. I often see parallel-parked cars whose drivers are trying to leave a tight spot lightly tap the bumpers in front and (especially) back as they go back and forth turning more each time until they can clear the corner of the front car’s bumper. I wouldn’t want anyone doing this against the *side* of my car rather than the bumper.
I’m thinking it was something like this that started the Smart tipping phase? It would make me want to!