October 24th, 2007
Jackie Grace of Dallas was another person interested in the car’s potential as a teen ride. “I’ve got a teenage daughter who will be driving in another year and I will consider getting that for her. The safety rating’s high. I like the thing (demonstration) about the steel cage, the same as the NASCAR type of (roll) cage, and you can’t fit a lot of people in there, and for a teenager that’s probably a good thing, because they tend to get in wrecks when there’s more than one of them in the car.’’
Oh yeah, Ms. Grace thought the car had a very high “cute factor.”
So did Edel Manalastas, who seemed not to mind this unmanly description.
“It’s so cute and it will save a lot of gas, so I’m just checking to see if there’s enough horsepower for me,’’ said the shop foreman, who works at Park Place Motors on Lemmon Avenue in Dallas where the smart fortwo was on display. “A lot of the employees over there are asking if it will perform. They want to order one, but they want to know if it’s fast enough.’’
Will the smart car be too much of a puppy on the road for Americans? That seems to be one of the key questions facing the car.
For the curious and the already committed in the long line of test drivers at Park Place, the questions seem to abate once they’ve driven the car. After taking the around-the-block test run, several remarked on the good view out the wide windshield and the elevated seats (I’d say front seats, but there is no rear seat). They ventured that they probably wouldn’t feel too intimidated on America’s SUV-choked freeways.
The answer to the question of power seems to be one of personal preference. With its one liter gas engine, the smart is no muscle car, but then, it doesn’t have a big frame to power and only two passengers to haul. And no one in line seemed have lost their way while looking for a Mustang.
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