If I were a city dweller with no kids, I’d probably be on a bike or motorcycle — more economical than a smart car, both for my wallet and the environment.

I can’t imagine a situation where I’d pay a price premium just to save a few inches on the length of the vehicle — even if I lived in a cramped downtown area.

@Gina – If I’m on I-25 in Denver, just give me something that’s got some get-up-and-go. SUVs are everywhere around here. Just a few days ago I was at the park, and the parking lot was filled with two cars and more than 10 SUVs! You don’t see that anywhere else in the U.S.

@Brian – You said: “If you’re a heterosexual guy and buy this car, you should have your ‘man card’ revoked for at least a year.” What if I drive a pink Vespa? ;-)

@A.J. – I think you make a great suggestion. My overriding environmental philosophy is to live as low impact as possible without getting too extreme. So I recycle, drive less, ride my bike, give away (instead of throw away), avoid using straws, etc.

Thanks again for participating in this conversation!

Ryan

As for Tom Stallkamp, kudos to him for saying that the emperor wore no clothes. Sometimes, mistakes just keep getting pushed along because no one has the cojones to stop this type of corporate idiocy.

Every decade or so, there’s some idiotic green/enviro-type movement designed to guilt us into taking some absurd action. Why not just live right to begin with? Do you really need a two and a half ton SUV to haul your child to soccer practice? Think about where your refuse goes. Don’t pour anti-freeze down the sewer or dump your industrial solvents into the soil. Sooner or later, we’re going to be taking water from that now polluted aquifer.

I don’t need a SmartCar and no enviro-weenie can coerce me into getting one.

There. I said it.

Oooh. Better get off my soapbox before I get vertigo. ; )

It is small, ugly and so on …… I believe in Saab, Mercedes, toyota, ford ……Jeeps, Vitara, hummers are allright so long as they are LPG conversion. Better for the environment and cheaper. We in the UK dont have the luxury of cheap petrol like our good American neighbours.

It is so nice to cruise along the motorway in these giants and I honestly feel safer in them rather than smart cars. My car is an old Saab which is the middle ground, reasonable mileage – 40 miles per gallon or so. Comfortable and plenty of space for luggage or shopping or even the odd removal job for the family.

As far I am concerned smart cars are a waste of money but dont tell my husband that. He totally believed in it but then I tend to make the buying decision in the family. Hahahaha.

I’m 6-2 and 250 lbs. No way am I going to squeeze myself into this over-hyped tin can for a block, much less 100,000 miles. I still like cars with some room, and engines with some get-up-and-go. My 2001 Impala has a V6 that gets 32/22 mpg, has a decent-sized backseat and trunk.

It’s a guy thing, but you don’t to drive some wimpy little rollerskate on the highways, because its easier to get bullied by larger vehicles. Especially here in Denver, where some folks think they’re NASCAR drivers.

If you’re a heterosexual guy and buy this car, you should have your “man card” revoked for at least a year. How’s that for an emotional marketing message against the Smart Car?

When Daimler Benz bought Chrysler back in 1998 or so, Daimler was developing and about to launch its Smart Car. At the time Daimler had a high opinion of it and the price it would bring in teh US market. Tom Stallkamp, who was Purchasing Director at Chrysler heard about the price and the cost overruns, and commented at some industry gathering that “the Smart Car didn’t sound too smart to him.”

I think his remaining tenure at the company lasted less than two months after that comment.

There’s got to be some room to squeeze a couple of bags of groceries or a suitcase in the back of that thing.

Maybe you use public transportation a lot and all you really need a car for is quick trips around town. For example, I take the lightrail into downtown Denver for my daily commute. Most of my driving is done within a limited 10 mile radius on weekends and I never venture out onto a highway. (This is by choice — I hate driving on the highway. Though I have to say on those limited occasions where I would have to drive on the freeway, I’d rather be in a Hummer than a SmartCar.)

Maybe parking is an issue — and it’s a real one in San Francisco. Not to mention downtown Denver.

Maybe your neighborhood is largely walkable and you rarely use a car.

Maybe you’re just not enslaved to the car culture like the majority of Americans.

Maybe you like being trendy. OK, so that’s illogical.

Mind you, I have no plans to buy a SmartCar. It doesn’t look very durable or safe to me, and my first car was a Subaru Justy so I’ve already done the tuna-can-on-wheels thing.

Nor do I plan on going carless, even though I only put about 4,000 miles a year on my car. (Driving less is the real environmental action. Not feasible? Examine your lifestyle — can you do something different?) I do plan on keeping my current car (Ford Focus) another 10+ years, and then will replace it with a reliable hybrid car (likely a Ford Fusion, but who knows what will be around then?)

FINALLY got to the front of the jam, and there was the accident.

A big ole pickup truck and a SmartCar collided. Yikes!

I was AMAZED to see the SmartCar thoroughly crunched, but with the driver standing there next to it, safe and sound.

From a highway accident?!

Since the Obama-administration is zealously (and furtively) aiming to get more of us into these European-inspired fishbowls, there is SOME solace that a highway crash may be survivable.