Question: The Smart Car received a lot of press a year or two ago but I have heard less about it lately. I am interested in one of these cars, which I saw on a trip to England. Is this car still going to be available after the breakup of DaimlerChrysler? Do you think it's worth it, or would a hybrid be more practical? -Heather G., St. Louis Park
Answer: The car appeared at the Los Angeles auto show in November and is supposed to be on sale as of January '08. Their own website isn't too clear on whether that has happened and on what scale. According to an Associated Press piece also from November, some 30,000 people paid the $99 reservation fee, and the company is contacting them to get the sales finalized.
I've seen them in Europe too and they're very practical for city driving. They're great for navigating European cities' ancient, winding thoroughfares and would be good for alley driving here and parking when another car, lawnmower, snowmobile or motorcycle are encroaching on your other spot. The Smart car is so short, I saw them parked nose-to-curb or tail-to-curb in parallel parking areas. Even if that's illegal or inconvenient here, they'll still be a snap to park on the street. And while space, room, etc., are constant buzzwords of the American auto market, one glance around you at rush hour verifies that we do most of our driving alone, with little more baggage than a briefcase and cup of coffee.
The car has some curious aspects, too. For such a tot, the mileage isn't that insane. The company's own website says 40 city/45 highway. That's good by comparison, but you'd think something that size could make 50 or 60. The AP piece also said the Smart car has yet to make any money. How accounting works for an international car manufacturer, I can't say, and whether this means they haven't shown a healthy profit or have shown none at all is not clear. Presumably Smart isn't losing big money or shrewd Daimler AG would drop them. Obviously the Germans see something here, if only a global test of the super-small car's viability and design. And yes, Daimler has held onto it post-Chrysler divorce.
Whether it's a superior purchase to a hybrid like a Prius is a judgment call. It's a lot smaller - pretty much a commuter and errand-running car. And it's for two people, period. If you have kids and don't have a second vehicle for family travel, forget the Smart. Daimler had planned to sell a four-place Smart but has reportedly dropped them for all markets. But it's cheaper too, about $12,000 in base form compared to over $20,000 for a Prius.
If you're coming at this at least in part from an environmental perspective - burn less fuel, pollute less - there are again pros and cons. Wherever production of electricity pollutes, as with coal-fired plants, hybrids are still causing pollution in both gasoline and electric modes. (This is not true, of course, for wind and water-generated power.) Batteries, while recyclable, also are a pollution problem.
The best advice I can give is to drive a Smart and drive a hybrid, ideally on the same day. Both will save you at the pump. Which one you'd like to throw down a substantial investment for and live with for many years, you'll be able to best judge after seeing, sitting, driving, riding, parking and checking the luggage capacities. It's not a bad idea to bring the basic bags you travel with and see how it goes fitting them into a Smart; do the same for the hybrid.
By the way, locally, Feldmann Imports will sell the Smart car.
