Have You Heard About the "Smart Car" Yet?

The Smart car is coming, The Smart car is coming! After reading an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer Business section from July 19th and visiting www.smartusa.com I felt I had to go "Paul Revere" to tell everyone about the new "Smart" car.

If you haven't heard of the Smart car, don't feel bad, but boy oh boy will enjoy learning more about it because it should hit the market in a big way because it combines fuel economy and attractive pricing in one tiny, but sorely needed for the automotive industry, package.

Simply out, the Smart car from Daimler-Chrysler, is a small car, a very small 2-seater car that measures only slightly less than 9 feet in length and is not quite twice as wide as a refrigerator. Just to give a bit more of perspective as it relates to its size, the Smart car is about 2 1/2 feet longer than a typical riding lawnmower and about 3 1/2 shorter than its closest, for lack of a better term in this category, competitor the Mini Cooper. Also, according to reviews by testers, despite its smallish size, there is plenty of room for drivers that top 6 feet, and since I fall into that category at 6' 1", that I'll have to see for myself.

What it does have is a great "one-two" punch that should have consumers at the very least flocking into a dealership for at least a "look see", and that is fuel economy at 40 miles per gallon, and a base price of, are you sitting down, estimated at only $12,000! Wow! As I said, these two features alone will create a buzz, but get this, the Smart car also comes with interchangeable body panels that will give owners, get this, the ability to the vehicles color daily, or to suit a particular mood even.

The Penske Auto Group is in the process of licensing distributorship's around the country and while this process is going on to create awareness for this ultra cool "micro-car", Penske is touring larger cities around the United States with the Smart Car to wet consumers appetites for this "fuel mizer" of a vehicle. t these tour stops, consumers will also learn that the Smart car was designed by, get this, Mercedes and its slick styling is courtesy of Swatch. The car's name actually stands for SWATCH MERCEDES ART, very slick, don't you think?

Despite all the encouraging news, and slick styling, the Smart car does have its safety concerns as it is easily much lighter than anything else on the road as its design specifically to get rid of unnecessary space in a two-seater to maximize fuel efficiency. The downside to this is two-fold in my mind. One, the perception is the drivers in smaller cars are not as safe as drivers in larger cars, and two, since Americans seem to be reluctant to give up passenger trucks and SUVs as of yet, Smart cars will be much more likely to be involved in an accident then drivers in Europe where the Smart car has earned passable safety test ratings.

I would strongly suggest that you visit www.smartusa.com to learn more about not only the Smart car, but to see if the rolling tour will be coming to a city near you for a little preview. At the very least, it has to be a fun test drive, don't you think?

Sources: www.smartusa.com and Cleveland Plain Dealer article by Robert Schoenberger from July 19th, 2007