Smallest car, biggest market
Tiny smart cars, long a fixture in European cities, arrive in US next month
There will be no fast and furious escapes in this vehicle. The smart fortwo ultra-compact's 71-horsepower engine makes it useless as a getaway car. Besides, it attracts too much attention.
There has long been a buzz surrounding the 8-foot 8-inch smart car - about the length of a
Next month, smart cars are finally expected to go on sale in the United States. In anticipation, about 30,000 customers here already have put down $99 deposits. Others with less patience have paid as much as $39,000 for so-called gray-market European versions that have been converted to meet US safety and emissions standards, even though they will be sold here at three lower price levels. Starting prices are $11,590, $13,590, and $16,950 (for a convertible model).
During a recent test drive around Boston, it became clear there will be a strong market for the car, which is manufactured by Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
"That's fantastic," said George Brown, director and chief financial officer of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, as he examined the smart car on Newbury Street. "I've seen them in Europe, and it's just what we need to solve our energy problems."
Joseph Palermino was lured from his Newbury Street office to check out the car, which was parked between a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Cadillac behemoth. He recalled the days when Ferraris and Lamborghinis across the street at the now-moved Armani store would prompt stares from passersby.
"Forget the Ferraris," Palermino said. "Even if they were here, this would get all the attention."
As it also did at a Dorchester intersection, where Tracy Spencer gave a thumbs-up from behind the wheel of his gleaming Mercedes-Benz C280. "I can just picture this on the city streets, man," he said. "You could pick up girls with this, it's so new and different."
There are plenty of reasons for the strong reactions.
The 1,800 pound smart car is cute, it gets 40-plus miles per gallon from a one-liter engine, and it can be parked in the tightest of spaces. In fact, two smarts, bumper-to-bumper, could occupy one parking space, just as motorcycles often do side-to-side.
But despite the car's small size, occupants of the two-seater ride higher than they do in most compact sedans, and there is a surprising amount of space in the hatched rear cargo area.
The three-cylinder micro-car uses a five-speed automatic transmission (with manual option) to transmit power to its front wheels. That's good for winter driving, because it puts more weight over the driving wheels.
On Boston's streets, the car proved agile and as swift as necessary. Surprisingly, its highway prowess let it run in the high-speed lanes, where drivers often cruise, bumper-to-bumper, at 80 miles per hour.
Of course, a tiny car like this is bound to spark safety concerns. It comes with an antilock braking system, electronic stability controls, and air bags for front- and side-impact crashes as standard equipment.
But the key to protection is what the company calls a "tridion safety cell" around the occupants' compartment. Video of test crashes shows the car hitting a Mercedes-Benz head-on and striking cement barriers at 70 miles per hour. In both cases, the front of the vehicle is destroyed, but the safety cell remains intact.
"Safety wouldn't worry me," said Charles Hartshorne of Arlington, who took pictures of the smart as it rolled along near Boston Common. "But I'm sure there are some in the general public who would worry."
Overseas, some people have larger cars for long trips and smart cars for inner-city commuting.
"We go to Europe a lot and there's a profusion of them in Paris," said Diane Alexander of Boston as she admired the domestic version.
Penske Automotive Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has the rights to distribute the car in the United States. The company, which sells more than 40 brands of cars at about 300 outlets worldwide, plans to offer smart cars through 74 dealerships here, only eight or nine of them Penske-owned. New England locations are likely to include two Herb Chambers dealerships near Boston, which are not affiliated with Penske.
Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com. 