Coming soon to the American Market!
A little tiny car. A "smart" car. A German car, as it turns out. I had heard a little about these "smart cars" before coming over here, but I did not know that they were German. Not only are they German, they're fairly popular; we see them pretty often. They will be available for sale in the US in early 2008, though there are some in the States right now. Apparently you can import them through a dealer, provided they are modified to meet US safety and emission standards.
So here's a little bit of information about the tiny car that's coming to America:
A little tiny car. A "smart" car. A German car, as it turns out. I had heard a little about these "smart cars" before coming over here, but I did not know that they were German. Not only are they German, they're fairly popular; we see them pretty often. They will be available for sale in the US in early 2008, though there are some in the States right now. Apparently you can import them through a dealer, provided they are modified to meet US safety and emission standards.
So here's a little bit of information about the tiny car that's coming to America:
- It really is tiny. It's as long as a parking-space is wide. (More specifically, it's 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet tall and 5.1 feet wide.) The website claims that it is "small on the outside and big on the inside." If so, that's some impressive, Harry-Potter style technology.
- According to Wikipedia, the original plan was to make a car that was easy to park. Where most cars have to parallel park, the smartcar can park facing the curb. I've seen this done; it looks weird, but it fits.
- Also according to Wikipedia, the purpose of the car was "to transport two people and a case of beer." (Whether the creator was more inspired by the parking possibilities or the passenger & beer transportation Wikipedia does not tell us.)
- "Smart" is an acronym for "Swatch Mercedes ART".
- Yes, Swatch! The creator of the most excellent Swatch Watches of the 1980's is also the creator of the smartcar! Mercedes chipped in a bit in the end, I'm sure, but this car is Swatch through and through.
- It can be yours for a reservation fee of $99 plus the price--anywhere from $11, 590 to $16,590. (Remember, it's big on the inside.)
1 comment:
We used to see early american versions of this idea in SF pretty frequently. the 'think' if I recall. I want one. its the perfect station car, although at 12k its overpriced unless its drops off my drycleaning after I get on the train.
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