Find Reviews by Make:
70 Comments on “What’s Wrong With This Picture: Not So Smart Now, Eh Mr. Bond? Edition...”
Read all comments
Latest Car Reviews view all
Latest Product Reviews view all
Recent Comments
- Lou_BC: @Carlson Fan – My ’68 has 2.75:1 rear end. It buries the speedo needle. It came stock with the...
- theflyersfan: Inside the Chicago Loop and up Lakeshore Drive rivals any great city in the world. The beauty of the...
- A Scientist: When I was a teenager in the mid 90’s you could have one of these rolling s-boxes for a case of...
- Mike Beranek: You should expand your knowledge base, clearly it’s insufficient. The race isn’t in...
- Mike Beranek: ^^THIS^^ Chicago is FOX’s whipping boy because it makes Illinois a progressive bastion in the...
Car Reviews By Make view all
New Car Research
Who We Are
- Tim Healey
Managing Editor - Matt Posky
News and Social Media Contributor - Timothy Cain
Sales Analyst - Murilee Martin
Junkyard Finds Author - Matthew Guy
Contributor - Chris Tonn
Contributor
- Adam Tonge
- Bozi Tatarevic
- Corey Lewis
- Jo Borras
- Mark Baruth
- Ronnie Schreiber
A piping red hot laser came and cut those cars right in half?
Before they could escape, of course.
There is no way to avoid looking like a total dork driving one of those. I could get more dates driving an ice cream truck.
I guess the novelty has worn off. The Smart is too much of a penalty box. I’d much rather have something slightly larger and much more useful, like a Fit.
Sure is an efficient dealership, real-estate wise.
Where is the key to turn it and activate them?
As in this gif http://webdelautomovil.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/windupkey-1-2803.gif
I bet you if Daimler just added some jumbo cupholders, put in a DVD player, and increased the distance between the accelerator and brake pedal these things would be flying off lots.
The only person I have talked to that actually owned a smart car hated it and wanted to get rid of it.
Smart is Dumb. Orwell had a lot right.
A “Smart” car is half the size of a Honda Fit but only checks in with a 16% fuel economy advantage. Meanwhile, the Smart and the Fit cost about the same amount of money to buy. I wonder how the insurance cost compares for the two. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Smart was relatively expensive to insure.
Who buys half a car for the same price as a whole one?
I know of three Smart dealerships that are right next to Porsche dealerships. Judging by the picture above, this is a 4th. Is this just a coincidence, is there some sort of synergy going on, or are Smart dealerships trying to position themselves to catch the usual Porsche clientele?
I’ve noticed that many 12-foot spots where these could parallel park are painted red (no parking). Is there any move afoot to allow these cars to park in spots normally too small for longer vehicles? I suppose that given the length of the vehicle, they could part in 6-foot curb spot by pointing in/out instead of parallel; that could open up even more possibilities.
Until these spots open up, I’d rather have a Honda Fit.
I only know one person who bought (or even considered buying) one. He had lost almost all his net worth overnight and couldn’t afford a real car anymore, but had too big an ego to admit it. He bought one of these shitboxes so people would think he was cool, not broke. Didn’t work.
I actually see a fair number of these things around here (Riverside, CA). I don’t understand why anybody would buy one of these over, say, a Yaris (which costs two thirds as much, seats 150% more people, and accelerates twice as fast, even though gas mileage is only three quarters as good).
I don’t have a problem with the size. There are plenty of great sports cars that have less interior room. My problem is that it’s slow, has wacky handling, and it looks and feels cheap, for way too much money. Sell it for 8k and it becomes a great car.
I didn’t know the B&B were all a bunch of curmodgens who only buy cars that are practical and as exciting as egg salad on wheat toast.
Why is the existence of this vehicle so lamented in this country to the point that people would suggest buying a YARIS over it? Jesus weeps, do you know what you people are saying!?
I welcome the fact that it was sold here, welcomed it so much so that I bought one and have put 18,000 trouble free 42 MPG avg miles on it.
I’m not a poser, im not a tool by any means, I just wanted a commuter car that was unique in the sense that I wasn’t driving my stove.
Any car that diversifies the offerings in this country are a good thing, who would want a society full of Camry’s and Yari…. not me.
Gas is no longer $4.00 a gallon and everyone who wants a Smart has one.
If gas takes another sudden spike these things will start selling again.
I guess all the rich folks got their toys, showed them off, and now figured out that the cars suck. Life is so unfair.
ajla :
I bet you if Daimler just added some jumbo cupholders, put in a DVD player, and increased the distance between the accelerator and brake pedal these things would be flying off lots.
HA! I actually laughed out loud at this one.
I call these things “stupid cars”. When comparing fuel economy with a Fit or a Yaris, please remember that a Smart requires PREMIUM fuel. The Honda and the Toyota run perfectly fine on the cheap stuff……..
Why is the existence of this vehicle so lamented in this country…
Like weeds in a well-kept lawn, they ugly up the world.
Roundel :
October 7th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I welcome the fact that it was sold here, welcomed it so much so that I bought one and have put 18,000 trouble free 42 MPG avg miles on it.
Uh, just disregard that whole “dork” thing.
And there’s always this issue, from the Amsterdam News:
Amsterdam, July 25, 2009 [DutchAmsterdam.nl] — Amsterdam police is deeply concerned about a new craze in which vandals toss parked cars from the Smart brand into the city’s canals.
The so-called ‘Smart tossing’ takes place mainly during the weekend, when many youths are out for a night on the town.
Re John Horner:
Who buys half a car for the same price as a whole one?
My daughter……..
I think your average American youth is too fat and out of shape to be able to lift one of those things into a canal.
I see these all over the place up here – many owned by baby boomers making a statement I suspect.
A friend of mine has one too – he’s 6’5″ and 250lbs. Which always leads me to ask, wtf can’t the manufacturers of the other better values mentioned above get their act together and exercise some rudimentary good ergonomics like Smart can with this tinbox?
@ Cicero
Eh…. doesn’t phase me… I’m not in High School anymore…
@ Joe
I think your notion is correct in the fact that the die-hard people already have bought one, now there needs to be a driving factor for other sales, and with gas as low as it is, this will not be the hot ticket item it was. If Penske was one year earlier with its introduction, he might have handily sold more of these.
But its not if, its when with gas prices and when they do rise again, I think we will see ONCE again how short the American mind is, and Metro’s will sell for 5 grand again with 100K on them.
I REALLY wanted one of these smart cars. Bad. I rushed to put a deposit on one. Then I learned we weren’t getting the diesel. And no cruise control. So I backed out.
When Cash 4 Clunkers hit the streets, my wife and I decided to go and drive one. If the smart was what I thought it was, we’d buy it.
It wasn’t. Not even close. They have so dumbed the smart down, that it doesn’t feel at all fun. With the wide rear track and the slow steering, it feels more like my Grand Marquis than a car that could fit in my Grand Marquis’ trunk. So we walked away.
And bought a Fit.
The Fit has me smitten. It’s way more fun to drive, get’s over 40 mpg (still not sure how) and is far more practical. And people really like it. I’ve had women run over and hug my car. Really. It’s strange.
But lots of fun.
@Cicero:
There is no way to avoid looking like a total dork driving one of those. I could get more dates driving an ice cream truck.
So lemme make sure I understand what you’re saying: not only do you feel obligated to care what anyone else thinks of the car (or anything else) you buy, but you also feel obligated to use your car (instead of, say, your mind) to get dates? Is that really how life works in your world? Seriously? Because if it is, that suggests your priority in potential mates is what they think of the car you drive, which, I donno, doesn’t really strike me as the basis for much of a satisfying relationship. Or a cost-effective one, for that matter.
(@SunnyvaleCA: I see smarts parked at right angles to the curb in between parallel-parked cars whenever I go to Europe.)
Why would someone buy one of these when they can just get an S-class? Why doesn’t everyone just buy an S-class?
Down here in Florida, people are passing on the Smart and, instead, holding onto their golf carts a little longer…
SherbornSean: “Why would someone buy one of these when they can just get an S-class? Why doesn’t everyone just buy an S-class?”
Thanks, Sean…I made the mistake of taking a sip of my drink just before I read your comment, causing me to spew liquid all over the place from laughter.
“Why would someone buy one of these when they can just get an S-class? Why doesn’t everyone just buy an S-class?”
Because you can’t all be rich like me. I own TWO S-classes, because my portfolio is just that bangin’. As for this tin can, if my S550 hits one of these – the driver of the Smart will DIE and I’ll be in for $20,000 worth of body work.
There is no way to avoid looking like a total dork driving one of those.
I don’t know about that, a guy driving a smart is certainly not trying to overcompensate for anything.
If I were a woman and saw a guy driving this:
http://southtownmotorsales.com/images/30_ford_f350_small.jpg
I’d have to figure I was in for an unpleasant surprise.
A Fit is a cool car? I guess if you use the word smitten alot. God save cars, please!
Is this the gauntlet that must be run to get to the Porsche dealer waaaay back there across the street?
FWIW, there is one thing that the smart fortwo has going for it over a Fit or Yaris, and that’s that the smart can be had in a quasi-convertible version. You can’t even get a sunroof on a Fit or Yaris, let alone a convertible. The smart convertible is currently the cheapest, four-season, open-air vehicle available in the US.
But that caveat aside, as already pointed out, there’s absolutely no reason to even consider a fortwo over a Yaris or Fit. They might not be the greatest, but at least you can take one of them out on the highway without fearing for your life.
These Smarts only make sense in crowded cities like are found in Europe, or maybe New York here. In most places in the US it just doesn’t. If you are an average person, who parks in their driveway at home, and in a parking lot everywhere else, this car makes no sense whatsoever.
Daniel J. Stern :
October 7th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
So lemme make sure I understand what you’re saying: not only do you feel obligated to care what anyone else thinks of the car (or anything else) you buy, but you also feel obligated to use your car (instead of, say, your mind) to get dates?
I used to drive a Plymouth Valiant beater with a magnetic sign on the driver’s door that said “Ask Me About Hegel’s Dialectic Analysis of Western Political Evolution” but I didn’t meet many women.
If you are an average person, who parks in their driveway at home, and in a parking lot everywhere else, this car makes no sense whatsoever.
And this makes sense for the average person?
http://img339.imageshack.us/i/911cston22sand37s3500hdsx8.jpg/#q=6 inch lift kit dually
Since when has “sense” had much to do with car buying.
>>Gas is no longer $4.00 a gallon and everyone who wants a Smart has one.
If gas takes another sudden spike these things will start selling again.<<
The trouble is they don't even provide that much fuel economy. A VW diesel is a much better bet from a variety of perspectives – including fuel economy.
Those Smarts in the photo must have been sitting a very long time…check out the rusty brake rotor of the red one in the foreground. Yikes!
@ rudiger
take one of them out on the highway without fearing for your life
Even though I don’t accept the effective premise of your statement (the Smart is “unsafe”), quite honestly, how many do you see on the higher speed highways/freeways?
I see them in towns or inner city areas, which is perfect.
“smart centers” are ordering only the highest specification models. For urbanites and commuters it would be really swell as a $13K car. Just try to find a Pure.
That automated transaxle is a hateful thing, but not really worse than a typical automatic with an American at the helm.
I see Smarts on the freeways of Texas every day. They are no less suited for that duty than vans, pickups or SUVs with less propensity for rollover.
The “Dumb” (aka “Smart”) is a covered scooter for two, not a real car. As such, it is way overpriced. And to make things worse, the US Smart has god-awful MPG for its tiny size, the Prius and the Jetta TDI run circles around it on the highwy, and are twice as big and heavy. It does not even have the very efficient Start-stop system Euro Smarts have. Not to mention the 70 MPG Diesel!
The “Dumb”, from the beginning, was a low-volume “niche” vehicle for congested cities with parking issues. $4 gas made some panicked idiots buy it too, in Summer 08, but $2.50 gas eliminated that market.
They could force people to buy smaller cars if they wanted to simply by making all the parking spots just large enough for a Civic/Fit/Scion/Smart/or something smaller than the large SUV, etc.
If you encroach into the parking spot behind/in front of you, you get a ticket.
Malls could do it, cities could certainly do it. A city could increase the parking capacity of a city and increase parking meter revenue.
Or they could make small car parking zones. Double the spots, double the revenue.
SunnyvaleCA
Looks like Inskip Auto in Warwick, RI, a Penske operation. They sell Porsche, Bentley, Audi, Mercedes, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo, Nissan, Smart, Lexus and BMW. I’ve noticed since the downturn in the economy that there’s no place for any customers to park as the lots are cram full of new cars.
@SunnyvaleCA:
Perhaps they’ll throw in a free Smart or two with every Porsche you buy? Kind of like Kia does, except with the Smart, it helps assuage your green guilt over your Porsche purchase.
@MrBostn: Who are “They”, and why do I want them running my life exactly?
FWIW: Yahoo! says the SMART is the worst car in the world, ever.
Not all things European work for Americans.
Unless, of course, it’s my S550.
angrystan: “I see Smarts on the freeways of Texas every day. They are no less suited for that duty than vans, pickups or SUVs with less propensity for rollover.”Although the performance levels might be similiar, comparing the dimunitive smart with those vehicles of exponentially greater mass traveling at highway speeds is a rather specious argument (the smart’s touted ‘safety cell’ construction notwithstanding).
It’s not a political statement. Just a thought on how a city could expand its parking revenue.
I don’t drive a Smart/Fit/Civic/. Nor am I pushing them.
The “Dumb” is a strictly city vehicle. On the highway, not only its tiny mass will make it very uncomforable, or its diminutive length, but above all its ridiculously small WHEELBASE will really make it utterly unsuited to travel on any highway. This is also NOT what it was designed for, which was an URBAN SCOOTER for commuting and shopping with free parking since one can always park this thing, it is so small.
In addition, its tall and narrow design is perfect for the city at low speeds, but horrible for the highway at high speeds, with the increased drag and wind noise it obviously will have.
As if this was not enough, the overpriced US “Dumbs” have a god-awful transmission, see reviews.
“Smart provides clear evidence that the Chevy Volt will be an amazing success.”
Just trying to guess what the new GM sales/marketing team might put in future press release.
I’d rather peddle than drive that
FreedMike: “Not all things European work for Americans.
Unless, of course, it’s my S550.”
Please, we know that the best German car is clearly a used 7-series.
There are two problems with this appliance
1) The mower blade cools the engine. How am I supposed to cut my grass with that?
2) When I put my laundry in one and turn it on, even if I leave it running for hours my clothes are just as dirty as when I put them in! WTF?
Demetri :
October 7th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
“Why would someone buy one of these when they can just get an S-class? Why doesn’t everyone just buy an S-class?”
Because you can’t all be rich like me. I own TWO S-classes, because my portfolio is just that bangin’. As for this tin can, if my S550 hits one of these – the driver of the Smart will DIE and I’ll be in for $20,000 worth of body work.
Well you may be rich, but you’re not smart and rich. A smart and rich person would own a Lexis!
Roundel :
October 7th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I didn’t know the B&B were all a bunch of curmodgens who only buy cars that are practical and as exciting as egg salad on wheat toast.
Why is the existence of this vehicle so lamented in this country to the point that people would suggest buying a YARIS over it? Jesus weeps, do you know what you people are saying!?
Because americans aren’t like europeans. We want to get the absolute most for our money. That’s why asian vehicles sell so much better here than in europe. And besides, you get a functional trunk with a Yaris/Fit.
The most important point about this photo is knowing that Smart had taken deposits on lots and lots of these cars in the marketing ramp up. Then gas got expensive, and you couldn’t find one on a dealer’s lot to save your soul.
Now, we read that GM is collecting names of potential customers on their web sites for the electric car. The question is, and will be, how many of them will really write the check when the electric GM car finally shows up?
So there’s more to this photo than just a bunch of unsold econoboxes….
Before this year’s Indy 500, I was apart of the Media day held at the track that also included that the general public could drive their personal cars around the track.
Well about 30 Smart Cars drove around the track as in this photo:
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5299/img6637.jpg
The local media that I was with all started clapping as the cars drove by (I’m sure that it was so wonderful that they are saving the Earth… gag). Well I made a comment to the group I was with that I wondered if the owners actually drove them to the track or trailered them in? And on my way out, this is what I saw:
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/6227/img6643.jpg
So much for being environmentally friendly!
“PeregrineFalcon :
October 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
FreedMike: “Not all things European work for Americans.
Unless, of course, it’s my S550.”
Please, we know that the best German car is clearly a used 7-series.”
Attaboy! And specifically, a 95-01. Better, make it a 98, with everything, original Nav etc.
PS Don’t tell everybody, you will raise used 7 prices.
@ moedaman
Enjoy your egg salad.
If people here buy cars based only on bang for buck, than I’m not sure they are in the right place.
@ Autosavant
“As if this was not enough, the overpriced US “Dumbs” have a god-awful transmission”
Its the same transmission that is used elsewhere in the world, the automated manual only has a creep feature that mimics and automatic in that it moves before you press on the gas.
I must have a really hearty scooter as I have travelled taken many 500+ miles highway trips in my car and at 6’1″, still very comfortable at the end of the trip. I knew I wasn’t buying a Buick so I’m not sure what people expect when the wheelbase is motorcycle sized.
“I must have a really hearty scooter as I have travelled taken many 500+ miles highway trips in my car and at 6′1″, still very comfortable at the end of the trip.”
I am 6 1″ as well. I have seen the interior of the Smart up close and interior room is not an issue, it looks very roomy, probably because of the high roofline. A former student bought one, very slightly used, for about 9,000 Euros, WITH the start-stop system, and over there in Europe, he claims he saves 65 euros a week on fuel, he does a lot of miles, over his other cars (2.0 lt X3, and a 530) he used around town before he got the Smart. But in the summer he disables the start-stop because it screws up the A/C.
He, BTW, not me, a satisfied SMART owner, was the one who told me that it’s basically a scooter. He also claimed that chicks dig it over there. (LOL)
I am sure it is as comfortable or more than motorcycles of the same WB. But still that can’t possibly compare with a car, even a compact.
@AngryStan
I see Smarts on the freeways of Texas every day. They are no less suited for that duty than vans, pickups or SUVs with less propensity for rollover.
Uhm, let me guess, you’re in Austin, right? I see a Smart every few weeks here in Dallas, since my neighbor dumped his…
Autosavant:
He also claimed that chicks dig it over there. (LOL)
Well, In my experience, Chicks think they’re going to dig convertibles until they ride in one with the top down and it musses their hair. I learned to meet em in the afternoons in the Alfa, but pick em up for dinner in the Toyota.
PeregrineFalcon :
October 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
FreedMike: “Not all things European work for Americans.
Unless, of course, it’s my S550.”
Please, we know that the best German car is clearly a used 7-series.
Funny you should bring that one up…have you seen the prices on three-year-old, off-lease 745s?
CRAZY LOW. I found one here in Denver with 18,000 miles for $45,000, CPO.
If you can live with IDrive, it’s an epic bargain.
moedaman :
October 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Well you may be rich, but you’re not smart and rich. A smart and rich person would own a Lexis!
And know how to spell Lexus ;-)
FreedMike: “If you can live with IDrive, it’s an epic bargain.”And the styling. There’s nothing more depressing than seeing a pre-Bangle 7-series next to the Bangle version.
Lokkii
Yup, I’m in Austin and I saw a red Smart this morning. The guy was driving like a nut in the rain. Not so smart, I say!
“Autosavant:
He also claimed that chicks dig it over there. (LOL)
Well, In my experience, Chicks think they’re going to dig convertibles until they ride in one with the top down and it musses their hair. ”
he owned the 2-door hardtop, not the convertible.
I don’t know if she qualifies as a “chick”, but my Arlington, VA landlady for a few months, back when I did a Wash DC fellowship, recently divorced and with three adult daughters, wanted a convertible and thought it was better than therapy. One Sat morning we drove to a dealer to look at Mercedes E-class 93-95 convs, those that sold for a too high $80 when new, we rode in one, I was not impressed, she did not like the color combo.
I am not a big fan of convertibles, but if I had one it would be with a retractable metal top, not a ragtop. (for many good reasons)
$80K, of course, not $80.