Who’d have thunk it? I wonder where it is selling best?

i’d be curious to know

I bet it is not Texas thats darn tootin’

Edgeguy- A LOT of them are being sold in New York City, and some through bulk orders in other cities. For the most part, in the cities and I’ve heard the demand in the north-west has been high, although that’s pretty odd to think about.

California?

You better watch out, I’ll break out my Mongoose and t-bone you just for fun.

I work at a dealership which also is one of the few to carry the Smart franchise in the tri-state area and there really is a 1 1/2 year wait. Definately true.

the mileage isnt that great for a car so impractical. i hate toyotas but a yaris gets similar mileage, with twice the space. A mini cooper is certainly the best choice for the money. spend 16 grand on a 3 cylinder 2 seater with no storage or spend 16 grand on a 4 seater with foldable seats, a 4 cylinder engine, a real trunk, and nicer amenities.

A4- The base price is about 11.5k, mpg is 40’s-60’s. They aren’t actually that impractical, maybe by your online perspective.

I’ve driven the Smartcar, and it’s an unadulterated piece of unholy ****. The worst drive, the slowest acceleration, the least space, 2 seats, total ****. It’s unbelievable people want this over the Yaris or Mini.

As if that wasn’t enough, Smart has the balls to put out a ****ing Brabus edition with deep-lipped 14″ rims and skirts and charge a $7000 premium in Canada. Whoever buys these is a gooch monkey.

I’ve seen about 4 so far where I live. Since it arrived Stateside. For some reason though when I see them I have this sudden urge to hit one just to see how far it would fly…. lol

Well if you really gotta compare a Mini Cooper to a Smart ForTwo, you’re looking at a MSRP difference of about 7k.

The 2008 Mini Cooper is has a base of $18,700 U.S has 118hp 28city 37highway or 32mpg combined (stats were taken directly from http://www.miniusa.com)

the 2008 Smart ForTwo pure has 1 liter I3 with a (fire breathing)71hp and a base of $11,590 U.S and gets
33/41mpg (EPA 2008) (www.smartusa.com). Oh and does 0-60 in 12.8 seconds. (I had to re check that when I saw that)

Just from the stats yes the Smart FortTwo costs about 7k less and gets slightly better mileage. Now it also seats only two as opposed to the Mini Cooper’s 4 (I saw 4 adults packed in one one time and I felt sorry for them). The only storage the Smart ForTwo has, is a glove compartment.

I’ll side with A4 on this I’d rather spend the 7k extra, somewhat retain my manlyhood and go with the Mini Cooper.

Manhood* sorry.

Let’s be perfectly blunt about Smart cars: they are the absolute worst vehicle for the money currently available in North America. There are so many other choices that get comparable mileage, have twice the usable seats and space and cost the same or less. Those who choose to waste their money on these must be trying to make amends for something else seriously wrong in their psychological profile. There can’t be any fun in driving these. They’re slow, don’t handle well and sound like a raspberry farted. I wouldn’t even give the time of day to anyone who admitted owning a Smart Car.

OK maybe I’m overreacting, but over the weekend the Wife and I traded her PT on an ‘02 Mustang GT. Silver on dark grey leather, only 37k kms, Bullitt wheels, 5 spd and mach 460 sound.

Anyone who drives a Smart please feel free to reply. I’ll try to care once we’ve managed to wipe the **** eating grins off our faces.

I think Smart is the curse of Democratic party. I doubt that anyone but suburban ultra liberal democrat would drive this. I am all for democracy and I wish democrats well, but I can’t imagine anyone but heart bleeding liberal purchasing this. And what a reversal of fortune for Benz, the proud parent! They could not give them away in Europe. There is one born every minute!
To help you guys with math: Yaris 2 door theoretically can be had in US for about 12K; cheapest Fit is about 14K. 4 adults can be imprisoned in Fit easier then in Yaris. Either car has much better quality rating then Mini.

My in-law, he is almost 61..and says after he pays off his SX4 cuv(in about 20 months)….he wants one of these…why? Who knows..the guy is around 6′ tall, 275 lbs, or more.

Selling 25,000 ForTwo and having 25,000 $99 REFUNDABLE deposit are two different things. Don’t give me what you expect to sell, tell me when you report the sales figures! I suspect after the novelty wears off, your dealerships won’t be as confident in the sales. Look at the PT Cruiser and New Beetle if you need a lesson! Both are quite nice for the money and both were hot potato, but look where they are now? Granted the ForTwo isn’t retro, but it is still a niche vehicle until the sub-subcompact segment is fully developed, likely when gas price hits >$6!

I heard these things are selling like hotcakes in Thanfranthithco.

Mancapp- HAHAHAHA! That running joke hasn’t gotten old yet.

>It’s popular b/c it is so easy to park. When I was in Puerto Rico, I rented a 2 door Toyota Yaris. Everyone was passing the only spot left in the street, and we just took the spot and still had a lot of room. Not a bad car in my opinion.

There are so many better cars than this POS German tin can. For the same price you can buy a Chevy Aveo hatch with all the toys, way better reliability and quality. Or you could probably even into a hot Cobalt LS coupe for that amount.

I laugh at those morons who make the suggestion to buy a Mini Cooper instead. Yeah, if I had a death wish! Or do you people like forking out thousands of dollars in repair bills?

MPG is not 40’s-60’s jayjc08. The US version with 1 engine choice is rated at 33 city and 41 highway.

The real truth is Smart can’t keep up with replacement parts, reliability anyone?

Duh! its german deutschetouring1337 you douchebag

The Smart is popular where parking is at a premium. You can park two of them straight into a space normally used to parallel-park one car.
I wouldn’t feel too ‘Smart’ driving one if I’d just been hit by a Suburban. Better to spring for the gas.

No surprise here … despite the pathetic comments, like those about a Mongoose from a monkey, this thing is solid and safe, and ideal for city commuting … it’s not for you macho, tough guys who want 400hp race cars. If someone is buying a gay Miata to race, someone else is sure to buy one of these as basic transportation.

Fools.

I agree that it is solid and safe. It is a good city car. However, city mileage of 33 for something that small and slow is terrible.

deutschetouring1337, that wasn’t really me. That ****head used my LLN handle.

ATTENTION EVERYONE. As of todau 3/26/08 I will no longer be posting comments on here due to the lack of maturity, and problems of whoever is using our LLN handles and trying to impersonate me and anyone else, and therefore causing problems.

If any comments after this post are said by my handle, they will have a hyperlink to a gay porn site (Do not click on it) and are deemed offensive to anyone just know it wasn’t said by the real me. After using LLN over the past 7 months, it’s sad it’s come to this. Good luck everyone.

‘DRIVER54′, THOSE BUYING THIS CAR AREN’T LOOKING FOR BLAZING LIGHT-TO-LIGHT SPEED … DON’T YOU GET IT?

I’ve seen a few of these cars around here and they are quite interesting to look at. They are quite fast on the freeway and kinda cute.

Impulsive, I was commenting about 33MPG not being very good for a car that weighs just over a ton and has a small engine. The car is plenty fast for a city car.

Johnnycanuck, you and your wife eat s***? You’re sick. Go get help.

Deanster, A4 and others, four seats does not equal twice the space. I’ve driven both the Yaris and the ForTwo (2008 not 2006). I couldn’t put my family in the ForTwo, but I couldn’t put them in the Yaris, either. In fact, I barely fit in the Yaris, and I’m not that big. For me, a car like that is for commuting up and down the street to work, not for carrying a ton of people. For one or two people, the Smart has a more comfortable cabin space. For four people, a Pruis is a better choice. Both the Yaris and the Prius are much more expensive than the Smart. The ForTwo starts at $11.5k. Yeah, the Yaris starts at $11.3k, but it doesn’t have the same equipment. Once you add ABS and the other features the Smart ForTwo Pure has, the Yaris quickly climbs to 16k. The Prius starts at $21k, so it’s pretty much out of the question. A similarly equipped Mini runs around $22k, so it doesn’t even compare. The Mini is cute, and I wanted one at one time. But they are too pricey for my cheap self.

I also felt safe in the Smart, with the exception of the rear end push due to the funky weight distribution. I drove the ForTwo convertible in the middle of the summer in Vegas, during 118° weather. I froze my butt off in the Smart, and turned the A/C way down. I tried the same thing in the Yaris, and when I took off, it got warm. I will say the Yaris out accelerates the ForTwo, but when I’m driving to work, that’s not a big deal to me. The Smart A/C and stereo are what I like.

As far as Democrats wanting to buy them, you might be right. I’m a Republican, however, and I did the math. If I stopped driving my current car to work, I could actually lease, insure, and fuel a ForTwo on the money I spend on gas for my current car, and it gets 18mpg. I know I could get the same mileage in a Fit or Yaris, but I will still end up shelling out for it because of the price, and I don’t want that. The math doesn’t work for them.

These cars aren’t for everyone, so if you don’t like it, that’s cool. But saying they are cramped, that nothing fits and that they will crush under the pressure of a cheap K-Mart bicycle are pretty poor arguments. They are roomier than you would expect. They don’t have trunks because what do you need to fit into your trunk when you drive to work? A dead body? They don’t have back seats because who are you taking to work? Your kids don’t go with you. They don’t have a ton of power because how fast do you really want to go between stop lights when you are going to work?

As far as getting hit by a Suburban, let me list off a few others that would be destroyed by a Suburban: Miata, Fit, Yaris, Mini, Bug (older ones), Aveo, Metro, Corvette, almost any Lotus, Porsche, Corolla, Accord, S2000, 350Z, Harley Davidson, etc. etc. etc. You get the point. There isn’t much on the road that wouldn’t be destroyed by a Suburban. But I would hate to see a Suburban get smacked by a Peterbilt. For those that fear being crushed by a bigger fish, get a Kenworth or Mack or something, because that’s about as big as it gets.

And all the German comments, um, guys, this thing is French. I know that probably makes it worse, but at least get the country right. Mercedes is German, yes, but the original car and design happened in France, and that is where the main factory is, too.

Everyone fails to mention the three best features of the ForTwo, though:

1) the panoramic roof on the Passion model. None of the other cars mentioned have that available. Yeah, there are some convertibles, but the panoramic roof on the Passion model is just cool. I’m not a fan of convertibles, especially in Las Vegas where the tops just bake and break, and then they leak during monsoon season.

2) the shifter, including the paddles. It’s a weird concept, but I like it. No, the car doesn’t get faster, but at least it makes the commute a bit more enjoyable. A real manual is better, but for people that don’t know how to drive a stick, this makes things fun. I wish a real stick was available, though.

3) The removable body panels. For $1,800, I can get a set of different colored body panels, and drive two different colored cars to work every other day. That’s not a reason to like a car, but just by buying those panels, you feel like you have a new car.

I’m not saying everyone should run out and buy a Smart just because of these features. I’m just saying these are the ones everyone forgets about, and they are some of the features I like about it. But guys, girls, this is my opinion. I like the ForTwo, and I want one. But it would never be my only car. That’s ridiculous. I’m keeping my minivan for my wife and kids, and buying a ForTwo for me.