Okay, so I am sold. I saw one of these bad boys downtown yesterday and went home to find out where I could get one. It is a small (8 feel in length!) European car made by Smart. In the EU it is called the “ForTwo” (it fits 2 people). It is not a hybrid, but it gets 40 - 60 miles per gallon and can go at a top speed of 85 miles per hour.
Smart refused to manufacture and sell the ForTwo here in the US because they do not think Americans are ready for it…yet. So instead of this small economic (and might I add, bad ass) vehicle, Smart is going to manufacture and sell a Smart SUV because more Americans will drive them. Hmmm…exactly what we need more of huh? I dont get it…
Because of Smart’s unwillingness to manufacture and sell this little peach of a car, an American company, ZAP has been trying to get these little buggers across the Atlantic. ZAP is importing them and hopes to sell them soon. They are going to run between $12,000 - $25,000 for the top high end model, which is quite a price jump from the $10,000 European price tag.
When these cute little guys become available, I will be first in line to trade in my scooter and Jeep…that is, if I have the money. Seriously though, we need cars like this: safer for our environment and better gas mileage. I hope I will be in the drivers seat on one of these some day soon.
5 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Yes Sir! We saw these in Italy 2 years ago and dropped our collective jaw. You should see how neatly they park in the breadbox spaces no other car could ever fit in. I’ll fight your place in line…
Yeah these cars are all over the place here. The craziest thing: supposedly kids as young as 14 can drive them (meaning without a driver’s license because the minimum age here is 18). That’s Italian law for you. But they really are perfect because you can park them pretty much anywhere. But I can see why Smart doesn’t want to sell them in the US, because they would get totally smashed and run over by giant American cars, like in Super Mario Kart when you are racing and use the thunderbolt and all the cars shrink and then you can run over them…
Anyway, they are really cool and I could totally see you driving one. Maybe I can smuggle one back in my suitcase…=)
I have seen some pictures like this one that are parked in rediculously small spaces. It is interesting that in spite of their small body, the fortwo is actually pretty safe. They have done crash tests with SUV’s and other larger vehicles and the scores are always amazingly low (the lower the score the better) and compare to other safe vehicles. Glad to hear that you are going to be standing in line with me Suzanna…no cut-sies though
I want one!
cool… but $25K is a bit rich at this point.