One was running around town here a couple of days last fall. Seeing that car with other cars or traffic puts the whold size thing into perspective.

On the flip side, it is a very cool little ride, and at $12K, it's the perfect daily driver, even out here in very a very small town like Monterey. Though I can easily see myself buying one at that price, & I know it's a very safe car, I still wouldn't want to drive one long distance on the freeway.

 

I've spent a day driving the roadster.

It's small... really small... the motor looks like something off a lawnmower. It handles well, but doesn't feel like is has the ultimate grip of my SS.

Engine-wise, there's enough there to be entertaining, but it's no sppedster.

We make the T-tops for it.



Now, picture this...

The roadster is stopped at a stoplight. The driver of a K3500 Silverado Dually with a diesel and a snowplow up front looses his grip on his coffee, spills it on his lap and fails to notice the red light, striking the roadster squarely from the rear at 30 mph...

 

Scary now imagine it as a Kodiak Crew cab with a bigger snow plow, towing 10,000 pounds behind it!

 

The 4 door and roadster look good. I'd consider them, especially as a commuter car.

 

Sad thing is... there are people stupid enough to drive these things on the Autobahn here... one day.. someone will be caught dead in one. Literally. the "Roadster" is very very small. The one's I've seen have drum brakes in the back as well. A Honda Civic nearly dwarfs one of these things.

I've noticed that the number that I used to see around here has dropped quite a bit.. not sure why... I've yet to catch an american driving one though.

 

I saw a 4-2 in traffic the other day, stopped at a light beside me.

First thing I thought of was death trap. Good to see they've emphasized safety.

However, that head on crash pic with the Mercedes doesn't look right. You can see by the front wheels that the Smart car is nearer to the Camara than the MB. Its not a head-on collision.

 

Heh. They all look a bit dinky and unappealing to me, other than the roadster which is just okay. But if all you're going to do is commute in it and not need to carry anything, it might be viable.

Like everyone else, I don't think it's exactly practical or safe (too small) either. I mean it's the polar opposite of hulking great, gas sucking vehicles like Hummer and uber sedans. To the majority people who'se transport requirements and desires fall somewhere in between, neither of these extremes is appealing.

I guess that is not what this tiny car is about... if you buy one you're probably fairly hardcore. Maybe you have another more practical vehicle for grocery shopping and stuff. I'll pass and wait for the hybrid Musclecar that combines good fuel economy with great power and decent grocery getting utility, rather than squeezing into one of those tiny little things.