Does It Come in Pink?
Photo by the University of Maryland
“I’m probably one of the first in Maryland or the DC area to own one,” says John Robinson, a sociologist and a national expert on time usage. “It’s essentially a car cut in half, but it can get up to 50 miles per gallon, seats two very comfortably and is cleverly designed. It’s a little bigger than a motorcycle, but a lot safer. I saw one in Paris in 1999 and have been trying to get one ever since.”
Ironically, U.S. regulations made it difficult to import the German/French car. “I spent hundreds of hours and made thousands of phone calls satisfying all the red tape,” he says. “It had to be retrofitted to meet various U.S. standards, including some environmental ones, even though it’s one of the cleanest cars on the road.”
Several earlier attempts to import the car failed. But Robinson says the bureaucratic kinks have been worked out, and it was shipped through a California company that retrofitted it and sent it on to a New Hampshire dealership. He drove it home to Maryland in a blinding rain storm just before Mother’s Day.
MJ said,
May 18, 2006 at 4:37 pm
I *finally* saw one of those on the road this weekend. I don’t know why it’s taken so long to get to the U.S., it’s been around for quite a while in Europe. I think it’s great the For2 and For4 are finally here!
Alex Campbell said,
May 18, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Congrats on your new car! ZAP is distributing the fortwo coupe and cabrio. My understanding is that the forfour might be discontinued.
Liz said,
May 18, 2006 at 5:36 pm
Cute cute! But I’m left wondering why it doesn’t get better mileage than 50 mpg. Even our old CRX did better than that. But, it’s so adorable that it’s hard to be critical.
Kitchen Witch said,
May 19, 2006 at 7:05 am
The only thing is, as Liz says, that car isn’t that great on fuel. The Volkswagen Lupo does 100mpg even when driven really badly, while the Smart Car does more like 60. Lupos all the way, then….
Sphinx said,
May 19, 2006 at 5:15 pm
I’ve been trying to find out the mileage of Smart cars, and every website I check says it gets “very high” mileage, but they don’t give specifics. Seems sort of odd.
We’ve had Smart cars in Canada for a couple of years now, and part of their appeal (besides the cute factor) is that they are reasonably affordable. And if, like me, you live in a place where there is lots of snow 6 months of the year, I’m telling ya… they handle really well in all kinds of weather. Not that I have one myself, but I’ve seen them in action.
benjymous said,
May 23, 2006 at 8:01 am
My fiancée has a Smart, and if I had the money I’d definitely swap my rattly Fiat for one. - They’re getting really common over here in the UK now, and it’s like being in some kind of club, as Smart Drivers always wave to each other.
It’s incredible how much space there is inside, too - again, far more room than inside my car (which is a more regular “small car”)
It’s also surreal seeing other people’s reactions. We keep getting happy grins from old ladies, who usually mouth “that’s lovely!” after eyeing the car up and down!
benjymous said,
May 25, 2006 at 3:31 am
Oh, and btw, to answer the blog title question:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=smart%20pink
:)
chickey said,
July 2, 2007 at 8:32 am
them cars are good but to small