October 24th, 2007
Americans have reserved 34,000 smart cars, which are on the road already in 36 countries. About 800,000 have sold worldwide since the first model went on sale in 1998.
The United States has received wavelets of cute cars before, the Volkswagen Beetle and the MINI Cooper.
But none has been quite so small with such broad ambitions. The 8.8 foot-long smart car aims to captivate people who want a boutique, urban vehicle – one that can park sideways in a parking space. It also targets buyers looking for the straight utility of a 40-plus miles-per-gallon car, with Mercedes’ safety technology and a price tag to lure Americans straight out of their Sam’s Club loungers and down to the car lot.
The basic smart fortwo will sell for $11,590, and the fully decked out version will be $16,590.
Of course, the obvious difference between other “cute” subcompacts like the Cooper or VW’s Golf is that the smart car is strictly a two-seater, or in the words of David Schembri, president of Smart USA, “a micro car.”
Not micro in the sense that anyone will miss seeing it, more like micro unique. “If you want to feel like a rock star drive this car because you’ll have people following you around,’’ Schembri said at the test drive in Dallas, part of the smart fortwos “2007 national tour” in which people from dozens of cities have been able to take the car on a quick spin.
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