Found this article on this month's Winding Road magazine. The fist picture is great.

http://magazine.windingroad.com/wind...02web/?folio=1

then click on "Smart in America"

Enjoy

 

we'll see how it will work. But the gas mileage is shockingly low for a car of this size....

Matt

 

What is the actual MPG? I've seen anyway from 33 to 60, which isn't all that impressive. With that
mpg for the Smart, and with MINI just getting bigger and bigger, I think the Volkswagen Up! Looks promising. A 4-seater, and VW is shooting for a 100 mpg target.

 

See this thread too:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=112454

There have been a lot of good reviews popping up in mags and online

 

Opps.. I thought you want me to read about the GT-R.

 

It will be very interesting to see how the new Smart works out here in the US. I have driven the old one, and frankly, it's no MINI. In fact my Aprilia scooter handles better and way out accelerates it. The Smart looks neat, but in reality, it's benefits are really going to be realized here in the DC area... the biggest one is parking. How many tickets will Smart owners get everytime they back into a spot, rear wheels perpendicular to the curb, creating a spot where none was before? And on the beltway??? Would the average SUV or tractor trailer driver even see a Smart? I suppose that zipping around Old Town and maybe down the Parkway to DC would be cool if the parking issue could be resolved. Then there is safety... Daimler says the car is very safe because it has a steel frame chassis that doesn't deform in an accident. I wonder what happens when a Smart offset collides with a Cadillac Escalade at 50 mph? Scary. The fuel economy is odd too, why does such a small and light car get less economy than a MINI One diesel? I can't wait to see Smarts zipping around, but I wonder how long the fad will last.

 

Those paddles whack the ball hard, and it doesn't deform! But it sure does scoot away fast....

Matt

 

Heck, it will be a world safer then being on a motorcycle, a scooter, a bike, walking, and probably safer then a lot of bigger but crappier cars and trucks (including all the old ones on the road) so I think the concerns about it should be tempered with that in mind. Most vehicles, Minis included, would not fare well against an Escalade hitting it at 50 (or rolling over on it ). At 5' tall the Smart is higher profile then many cars and so I actually think it will be seen as well if not better then other vehicles blind spot wise (and the contrasting colors won't hurt if you get them), certainly better then motorcycles and low sports cars - in any case no matter what you drive you have to be alert because more then half the people on the road are distracted and would run into anything if you are not careful.

I've read plenty of reviews liking the car, and they do clearly state it is a big improvement over the prior versions, so it is probably best to wait to judge that until the final USA spec cars are out and available to test drive and maybe retry it before judging it based on the old one.

I'm looking forward to it for ease of parking and for fun. From what I've heard some did try parking perpendicular to the curb with no problem and, if remember correctly, asked a DPT officer here if it would be a problem and it wasn't - I can't be sure but I'll find out, not that I'll need to do that with that lil thing anyway

 

Euromotorcars is setting up a showroom at their Germantown Mercedes shop. Given that just about everyone in the up-county commutes a considerable distance to DC or beyond, I kind of question how many they're going to sell out here. I think they'd sell a lot more downtown, as the Smart really isn't designed for highway commuting.

 

It clearly is no Mini. But I had the opportunity to Drive one for a couple of days and they will be wildly successful in big cities. Here are a couple of pictures. Artoo and Smart. Smart and Artoo. And Smart getting a hot dog in Soho.

Rich