We Saw These Cute Things EVERYWHERE In Germany...

[arwalden]

... I wish they were sold in the US.



SMART, (is) the car that redefines mobility...one of the most fuel-efficient, gas-powered cars on the planet. This new car has been designed as the car of the future with many "smart" features that address today's crowded urban traffic and rising energy prices.

Don't be fooled by its charming, futuristic look, the SMART will surprise you with its handling, its stylish, roomy interior for 2 passengers, and its innovative design. After taking Europe by storm...the Americanized version that is a U.S. Compliant direct import automobile (is coming soon).

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp

http://www.smart.com/-snm-0135145948-1112824661-0000008946-0000004828-1113912480-enm-is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/smart-content-Site/-/-/-/Default-Start

http://www.usa.smart.com/brand/media/stage.html

[SweetLeftFoot]

1. Typical

Terrorist-loving Euroweenie fagpants.

(BTW - I live in Edinburgh and only know about three people who own cars of any sort ...)

[demnan]

2. What a cute car!

I'd love to have one like that. I'm not sure I'd feel real safe on the highway though.

[Kellanved]

3. err...

"Taking Europe by storm"?
No, not exactly. They are popular in the cities, but they are causing Mercedes a lot of trouble as a whole. I wouldn't be surprised, should they decide to stop making them.

Also, they are over-designed: instead of worrying about the technology first, the design was deemed more important. As a result the smart uses more gas than it has to and is a little unpractical on the maintenance side.
And it would not be me choice of a car for the Autobahn :P.

[ffm172]

6. I thought the same

what do you drive :P

[Kellanved]

8. This:

and this:


and occasionally this (it is a shared car):



(all pictures are just to give you the idea, with the exception of the U-Bahn, they do not really show the genuine article).

:D

[ffm172]

9. before I saw the car pic I was about to ask if you use the U-Bahn

at the Autobahn :D

In Frankfurt I take the U-Bahn also. And if the weather is going to treat us nice this summer I might get my bike out of the basement again also.

[Kellanved]

12. well, I hardly use the car

Nobody does. During my Frankfurt days, the k-kilometers just kept piling up. Nowadays I don't see the point. The supermarket is just down the stairs, the shopping mall is around the corner.
Going by bike seems a little more dangerous than in Frankfurt, though - and it isn't always viable. The city is just too frigging huge.

[ffm172]

13. since when are you in Berlin?

you are right, Berlin is just too huge. I actually like Frankfurt. It is an international city but still somewhat familiar. The city I hate most is Stuttgart.

[Kellanved]

14. Since my ABI

.i.e. 1999 :hi:

[ffm172]

15. made my Abi in 1994

and my Diplom in 1999 :hi:

how did you find DU?

[Kellanved]

16. followed a few links,

liked the "top 10", registered...

I still have to finish my Diplom (Inf) , though.

[ffm172]

17. same way as I did then

I am glad I have the Diplom in Bibliothekswesen. Working since 1999 already.

[LynzM]

20. Hey ffm...

Spent 9 months living at Uni Stuttgart... I'm wondering why you don't like the city?

Frankfurt is nice, the parts of it I got to see (near the airport), so was Karlsruhe :)

[ffm172]

21. the people there for most part

for me Stuttgart is a small village, that suddenly grew too big, it still has the mentality of a small village. I lived there three years during my studies and moved away the day after I received my Diploma

[LynzM]

23. Oh, gotcha

I guess that's a harder thing to perceive when you're not German and you don't meet that many people besides people at Uni... which was the case for me. I wish that I'd made more German friends while I was there, though I did end up meeting cool people from all over the world, which was nice.

Stuttgart seems to have a lot to offer nearby for engineering work, which we'd be looking for if ever decided to move back over... but then, that could probably be said for most cities in B-W, no?

[ffm172]

24. I think Stuttgart is the best choice for engineering

except the job market in Germany is preety bad at the moment. Everybody that has a safe job is pretty happy. German companies are outsourcing a lot also.

[LynzM]

25. Yeah, isn't unemployment...

about 10-12% right now? That's definitely part of what is keeping us from moving. My husband (Briarius) is actually working over here for Karl Storz Endoskope, gmbH, so there is some possibility that he could transfer internally at some point, if it becomes something we really want to do. It would be hard to leave everyone here, but the time may come. I think KS in Germany is in Tuttlingen, at least that's where their major center is. Tuttlingen, I don't know much about, except that it seems to be a little bit in the middle of nowhere! :)

[On the Road]

4. I Like How They Park Them:

[terrya]

5. This car was a hit at the Chicago Auto Show

I was reading an article in the paper about the SMART car during the Auto Show here. There was some interest in the SMART car...cheap, a nice design, EXCELLENT fuel economy, a great city car.

When gas prices are heading towards $3 a gallon (with no end in sight), the SMART car would be a perfect choice for an urban car. I don't quite understand why it's not being sold in the United States...I know it's selling nicely in Canada.

[LynzM]

19. I think it doesn't meet US safety standards...

Something to do with the size of the wheel base?

[Enraged_Ape]

7. Wasn't this Sofie's car in "The DaVinci Code"?

I always wondered what that thing looked like, or even if it was real.

[amber dog democrat]

10. I think this is where we are headed

in about 10 years. Just came back from Italy. They are way ahead of us with respect to fuel economy. I'd like to have one, but wonder how expensive they are to maintain.

Maybe I want to reconsider buying that used pick up truck.

[Heidi]

11. That's the car of my dreams.

Here, you can pay 5,000 Swiss Francs down (I guess that's about U.S. $4,500) and CHF 125 per month for a lease.

It's a dream car for folks like me, who have bad parking karma.

[radwriter0555]

18. We're eyeballing the Twingo's when we hit France....

This is one a cutie.... I LOVE the little itty bitty cars in Europe; they were our inspiration for buying our Scion XA... (which will be for sale for about $11K as soon as this f***ing house gets sold....)



http://www.scion.com/drive/gallery/drive_xa_gallery.html

[ixion]

22. okay... signed up for the newsletter

pretty awesome looking little vehicle. :wow: