burnaby t wallace

Smart cars look like it’s going to be a big hit. This time next year, hundreds of people are going to be looking for a parking spot, thinking they found one, then almost smash into a Smart car tucked deep inside a spot between two SUVs. Oh yes…I am looking forward to that.

On paper, it sounds nice. It is inexpensive and uses less gas than most other vehicles. When the Smart tour came around San Diego, you had to believe I was going to be there.

Then I saw one in person.

I don’t know why–but it felt like a very large Coke can. I felt like I was sitting in a Coke can with a tiny engine in the back with barely any space for a backpack. Wow…and the people who were there–sheesh. They were absolute fanatics. One guy had a camcorder recording his tiny model Smart car in an artistic fashion with the real Smart cars bokeh’d in the back. I remember reading on the website that the Smart cars get mileage in the 40’s. That’s not bad…for a sedan. But I expected more from a car quite literally made of plastic (more on that later). It sits two people and has no space for a trip to Costco. My old Hyundai Elantra from years back sits five and can hold bicycles. It had mileage in the high 30s. To add, I overheard one of the reps talking about the car needing premium unleaded to get the best mileage. That means when you use the cheaper 87 octane, the mileage drops.

It was funny seeing these cars at a Mercedes dealership. I mean, you had these little $14,000 cars flanked by the $120,000 S-class 12mpg luxury beasts. You had cars that were intended for the efficient/earth-friendly folks swimming around its heavy solid tanks of gas brethren.

The Smart folks were nice enough to provide people with cookies, chips, and sodas. What was strange, however, was for a Smart car presentation, they didn’t provide any recycling bins. A little hypocritical? Maybe. At least they had Cool Ranch.

The cars themselves look a little scary to drive. Every panel on the car is made of plastic. People are encouraged to purchase additional panels so that they can match the car to the owner’s wardrobe. The engine is in the rear. The roof is all see-through plastic or removable, as is the case with the cabrio. It can sit a large man and a smaller passenger, as is the case with me.

Speaking of which, want to see a large man in a car barely larger than his own jeans? Here you go: