Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, February 22, 2015.
Wordless Outtake: 2008 Smart ForTwo & 1991 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Two Doors, Four Wheels…
– Posted on October 16, 2017
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Curbside Classics Archives
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, February 22, 2015.
The Smart is just a tad longer than the Coupe de Ville’s doors!
Interesting. A Smart For Two and a Smart For Nobody. 🙂
Which of these is the bigger status symbol right now? I’m betting the Smart.
Finally… a car that makes a downsized Cadillac look big.
I thought the same thing!
Man that 1991 is in darn fine shape.
I hope the current owner has somewhere nicer than the street to park it on a regular basis.
Principaldan, I agree – this one was (is?) in great shape. There was a little body damage on the other side on the rear quarter panel, but it didn’t look too bad. This picture was taken maybe three months after the featured shot.
That’s a great pic! Considering there is snow on the ground both cars look so clean!
Although I’m not crazy about the 2 door’s awkward boxy look, the ‘89-93 de Villes are my favorite post-war Cadillacs. I know few would agree. The extra 3” added to the four door’s wheelbase was a huge improvement on the look of the downsized FWD ‘85s.
The ultra luxurious ‘57-‘60 Eldorado Brougham. ‘67-‘68 Eldorado. 1977 Cadillac & 1969 Cadillac are the four other Cadillacs that I really like.
The Smart was such a hit when they first were sold here, but when buyers started considering a Corolla gets more Mpg – the rush to buy one started to end. I love seeing Smart cars in Europe, but never embraced them here.
“when buyers started considering a Corolla gets more Mpg – the rush to buy one started to end.”
That’s exactly the thing that turned me off when they were introduced here. As someone who is interested in fuel efficient vehicles, if they made something that could get close to Prius-like fuel economy without the expense of a hybrid (like the old Geo Metro XFI) I might have been interested. 99% of the time it would just be me in the car anyway. But if the fuel economy is no better than a Corolla or Civic, then the Smart offers no value. Might as well get the Corolla and have the added utility when you need it.
If I remember correctly the European models are diesels, but they didn’t meet US emissions standards. I would assume the diesel models are much more fuel efficient.
If parking is at a premium in your area it does have some added value, I suppose.
My ding against the smart car is that if I wanted to have a vehicle that was hard to carry more than one or two bags of groceries in, I’d just spend 2.25 each way and take a CTA bus to the store. The buses are much nicer than they were 20 years ago and don’t really feel like a penalty box except when perhaps crowded and standing room only at rush hour. My Mini isn’t that much larger overall but I’ve fit a set of dining room chairs in it with the seats down.
CJC, I used to take the bus to shop for groceries all the time – and it was super-easy. The only reason I don’t anymore is because there’s now a grocery store *right at* my L stop, so I can just hit that after work or on the way home.
The Smart’s true advantage is when it’s Sunday evening and you need to find a parking space while competing against all of your neighbors that also include college kids at nearby Loyola University, the ForTwo often would fit where even a Yaris couldn’t.
Oh yeah, it’s not bad at all. And unlike the smart car once you get back you can just walk the groceries upstairs and don’t have to look for parking!
I’m near Wicker Park myself so I pretty much had to get a garage. My wife has to drive to work every day so the car gets constantly moved.
And that’s the thing. If I lives someplace that was so densely populated that parking was at such a premium I’d more than likely just take public transit and not have a car at all. And that’s basically what I do when I visit San Francisco (about 2 hours from where I live). I park in the suburbs and take BART into the city, because driving and trying to find parking downtown is too much trouble.
Neither —
The original Mini is ‘Smarter’ than any of its imitators ……. right, Sir Paul?
LOL
I took this picture of my Electra a few years back
Outstanding. The Smart looks like it could sit in the trunk of the Electra!
While driving in my Cadillac,
Much to my surprise,
A little Smart ForTwo was following me,
About one-third my size.
He must have thought his car had more guts
As he kept on tooting his horn
I’ll show him that a Cadillac
Is not a car to scorn
I hit the brakes on my Caddy
And not meaning to be bratty
I told the Smart driver his car may have spunk . . .
But it’s so small it’ll fit in my trunk!
And then, not shortly after,
I heard a little “crunch”
The ForTwo’s hood flew threw the air.
The driver lost his lunch…
I saw the similar thing yesterday when traisping through the street in Munich. I kept thinking how Volkswagen Golf Mk6 made Pontiac Grand Ville look smaller and much lower…
That’s a fascinating comparison photo!
Cadillac: 6 passengers, 15/24 mpg
Smart: 2 passengers, 33/41
Carrying 6 passengers in 3 Smart cars would use almost twice as much gas as putting them in one Cadillac!
(Of course, that’s not how they’re used in real-life, but still kind of funny…)
Well yeah, if you want to go down that route the most efficient mode of transport would be a bus carrying 50 people.
As a former bus driver, I approve this comment.
Interesting line of thought.
Cadillac: The Slippery Slope to Mandatory Public Transportation
Public Transportation in Chicago is darned near world-class. I haven’t needed a car in fourteen years, and I don’t consider myself disadvantaged.
” I say, I say, it’s a joke, son.”
A co worker bought an electric Smart Car a couple of years ago. With the government rebate on electric cars his lease payment was low. He would brag about how little he was paying. I told him he paid half the money (of a typical small car) and got half the car. Half the seats, half the storage space and at only 70 miles between 12 hour charges, half the utility.
On top of this, the manufacturer put graphics on the sides and hatch which said “E.D. ” (promoting the Electric Drive). I didn’t have the heart to hell him what E.D. stood for.
Emergency Department is the kindest explanation i can think of.
Pic reminds me that snow and salt season is coming, within weeks, here in Chi-town!
SHHHHHHH! 😉
I know. 🙁 LOL
Also, seeing the mid 2000’s Taurus in a 2015 picture, reminds me how they have disappeared in past 2 years from city streets. With them all over 10 years old, beater buyers want newer or Toyotas. Off to the wrecking yard.
Complete with sagging rear springs, of course. Fourth-generation Taurus/Sable sedan, the official car of “What’s your cheapest pack of cigarettes?” Good riddance.
(I don’t mind the wagons, since they kept some of the 1996’s quirkiness.)
Somehow, the Cadillac still looks more stubby
Heh. Comparisons of size, mileage, and capacity are apt to leave out intended use: if one has only oneself and a couple of bags of groceries to transport, and one lives in a suburb or city, a full-sized sedan is apt to be overkill ?
I know a guy who owns a Smart car. He took it to the dealer & three weeks & $900 later he got it back. I doubt that it would cost anywhere near that much to do the same thing to the Caddy.
I took this about a year ago. Filling up my 91 Brougham w/93 & a few things crossed my mind. The main one being…I’m sure his car drinks a 1/5th of the fuel my beast takes to keep it running. But is he a 5th as comfortable ???
Smart is really two cars, at this point: 2015 and earlier, vs 2016 and newer. The stance is bolder; a jump from 70 to 89 HP apparently makes a considerable difference, according to my neighbor, who has a 2016. I’m waiting for my first ride.
https://www.autotrader.com/car-reviews/2015-vs-2016-smart-fortwo-whats-the-difference-245448