Many Europeans are keen on their "Smart Car" — "the first European electric vehicles that are fully operational for everyday use." The concept is owned by the Germans and manufactured in France. To give you an idea of the size of the Smart Car, here's a picture of this energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly vehicle that our government will probably soon mandate that we all must use, much like the squiggly fluorescent light bulb.
They come in a variety of colors — here's a picture of a stack of them at a dealership.
Though I had heard of Smart Cars, a recent e-mail from a friend in Germany who reads my blog put me on to the fact that they are highly customizable. Tuning kits available from Carlsson Products allow you to change rather significantly the look of your Smart Car. The kits include alloy wheels, an aluminum pedal set, a fog light, front spoiler, grill inlet, handbrake lever, rear skirt, sport rear silencer, and wiring harness.
Never satisfied with the status quo, though, others have come up with body kits that totally change the look of the Smart Car. Here's what they've come up with so far.
The Smorvette!
The Smaudi A3 AWD!
The Smamborghini!
The Smorsche!
The Smorsche Targa!
The Smerrari!
and last, but not least...
The Smustang!
An interesting look, to be sure, but it's not as spacious as the "surprisingly roomy" Smart Car Fortwo, and not as powerful — less than one horse.
Are you tempted to look into the Smart Car for your automotive needs? Do you already own one and want to tell us how great it is? Would you never consider one? Share your thoughts in the comments.
quotation...
"Delay is not indifference. It's God's exercising His wisdom." - Chris Barney
=^..^= =^..^=
Rob
Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window!
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on Feb 18th, 2010 at 8:30 am
I would consider the Smorvette. RED! David, on the other hand, at 6’5″ would need two, one for each foot. Therefore, not a good choice for him. Maybe he could use it as a golf cart.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Really cute baby cars – wonder what they’ll look like when they grow up?
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 9:44 am
It just looks like a single roller skate! I guess you would not have to worry about being hurt in a wreck because you would just be killed instantly …
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 11:53 am
My husband and I call the SCs “fleas”. We’re both short, but neither of us wants one.
I survived getting hit by a truck in my Focus. No chance of that happening in the SC!
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
I agree with Donna, wouldn’t want to get in a wreck in one of those!
There is someone who has a yellow smart car local here. I still do a double take every time I see it! I have no idea how they drive on these roads around here. Many of the roads are dirt/gravel, and the potholes are big enough to swallow that car whole! You see a lot of pickups and SUV’s ’round these parts.
Those light bulbs get my blood boiling every time I see them! (well, maybe not boiling exactly…) They have mercury in them, and are not to be vacuumed or swept up if broken, but handled very carefully. So, years down the road, I can see all the turmoil about the mercury seeping into the water supply from the landfills, and how irresponsible the past people were (us). That, and the strobe-effect of those bulbs makes it hard for some family members I know who have seizures. It’s making it harder for them to enter some stores, one of which they can’t enter at all! it even gives me bad headaches. Grrr. Done with my ranting now.
oh, yeah, Where’s the blue Smurf car?
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Those cars shrunk in the car wash….
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
So, would a blue one be called a Smurfvette? I wonder if they have add on rooms for the top? You know, like the stack, only w/o the frame? Just weld them all together so the fam can drive together.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
@Cathy – LOL! I could see David with one of those on each foot.
@Vikki – I think they are SUV wannabes.
@Donna, Lara, and b.j. – I don’t want to get into any kind of wreck, but much of a wreck in a Smart Car would be a death sentence. I’m glad I gave you a platform for a rant, b.j. I’m glad you spared me having to do the same rant, especially since I put a link to my previous rant on the light bulbs.
@Kathleen – Honey, I shrunk the car!
@Cindy – Our daughter Nora is nanny to 4 children, all of whom are still in car seats. A family with kids would not be able to use this virtuous car.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I’m afraid I would end up as a hood ornament on a Dodge Ram or a Toyota Tundra. Ouch:)
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
We REALLY enjoyed this post! The Reader’s Digest version of the Mustang was the BEST. HILARIOUS.
I had one of those mercury bulbs blow up in my face a year or two ago. Haven’t bought any since.
[@ b.j.~ We have kids in our family that react to fluorescent lights, and tinted glasses helped. They don't help everyone, but it is worth looking into since that lighting is so prevalent. Visit http://www.irlen.com (especially the testimonials) and http://www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/overlays/ (real research). If you want more info beyond that, ask IVman for my email.]
As far as cars & families go, we once decided between 2 possible vans by which one we could buckle 3 car seats into side-by-side (Aerostar won over Windstar on that one). When that one got old, we upsized to a real van because we needed more cargo space in the back to feed the young’uns that outgrew those car seats! It was funny . . . until I was driving on back campus and went around a tricky telephone pole corner not realizing just how much the back wheels tracked inside the front ones. Thankfully, the damage was not too bad, and the van and I are now good friends.
I’d rather drive that gas guzzler in town than my husband’s “tin can” because even though I’m not an aggressive driver, I appreciate the aura a bigger vehicle projects, preventing people from running me over the way they do in the Civic.
on Feb 22nd, 2010 at 6:23 am
@Ron – So you don’t want to adorn the front of a larger vehicle?!
@Laura – Yikes! I’ve never heard of one of those bulbs blowing up before. That makes them even more endearing! :-/ Thanks for the links and for your family’s insights. I think there’s probably a definite niche in the market for the Smart Car, but it’s probably quite limited.
Vikki asked me to post the comment and picture below:
Oh wait – it is grown up! Poor thing . . . Maybe it shrunk in the wash. Shoulda had it dry cleaned.
At least it’s bigger than this little bubble car.
on Feb 22nd, 2010 at 10:37 am
My son fell in love with the SC on Mr. T’s desk at the AHE. We even have seen one up here in Fairbanks!
on Feb 22nd, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Don’t get me started on light bulbs. The government can come up with some ridiculous ways to use the Interstate Commerce Clause.
on Feb 22nd, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Oh, and here’s “the world’s only stretch Smart car:” http://www.greencarsite.co.uk/GREENNEWS/stretch-Smart-car.htm
ivman adds: In case the interesting article ever disappears, here’s the picture at least:
on Feb 24th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Re: Carrie’s stretch Smart Car:
That one kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?
on Feb 26th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Once while traveling (and in the passenger seat), I started laughing when I spotted a Smart Car sporting a vanity plate “ITSMYSUV” — riding on the back of a flat bed tow truck! If only I’d been able to get the camera out and turned on in time, before the truck exited. I could’ve put the caption “SUV battery low,” or something like that.
on Feb 27th, 2010 at 7:20 am
@Sue – That’s funny! I wish you could have photographed that scene also. I will say, though, that regular cars have occasional breakdowns also and have to be towed, so maybe it was something other than low battery.
on Mar 1st, 2010 at 8:52 am
I saw a Smart Car at Costco on Saturday. Didn’t think the driver would be able to fit much in it. But then again, I was on my bicycle…
However, I have a longtail bike with lots of cargo room, so I might have have more carrying capacity than the SC!
on Mar 4th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
It just looks like a toy, and I don’t drive a toy around.