Tom Whitehurst

A car too smart for its own good

Photo from www.thesmart.co.uk

The Smart Car gets about 60 miles per gallon, and reaches a top speed of 85 mph.

Coming to these shores, probably in 2003, is the Smart Car, a brilliant idea that Americans most likely will think is stupid.
   The Smart Car is a Mercedes, expected to cost $5,700 to $10,500, with air-conditioned models starting around $9,000 or less. Most Americans should think that's pretty smart, getting a Mercedes for that price. It has plastic body panels, which means no outer rust, which we coastal residents should think is smart, and dent resistance, which anyone who has ever parked in a parking lot should think is smart. And because those panels can be popped off and replaced, for a few hundred dollars, it's easier to change Smart Car colors than hair color.
   Now, here's the really smart stuff that Americans will think is dumb: It's an 8-foot-long two-seater with a top speed of 85 mph, a tiny three-cylinder engine, fuel efficiency of around 60 mpg, a six-speed manual transmission and a passenger compartment designed to provide impressive safety in a crash, though the car is too small to inflict damage on others.
   That covers just about everything I want in a car, and everything everyone else doesn't.
   Unacceptable differences
   Most of us don't want a two-seater, though if you observe most cars on the road at any time of day, you'll probably see only one occupant. Most of us take the best-defense-is-a-good-offense approach to car safety, choosing vehicles for their capacity to intimidate or kill other drivers.
   The 85 mph top speed is a double-edged sword: You'd limit your teen-ager to it, but not yourself. The six-speed manual, for the six of you who know how to operate one, is an unacceptable hindrance to cell phone conversations, cheeseburger consumption and makeup application.
   And most of us certainly don't care about gas mileage, which becomes increasingly interesting in the aftermath of Sept. 11, which has brought a new focus on this nation's dependence on Mideast oil.
   SUVs flying of car lots
   Local car dealerships are reporting no increased interest in fuel-efficient cars since the terrorist attacks. Vista Toyota reports low sales of the Echo, an economy car that gets 34 mpg in the city and 41 on the highway. But Vista sells the new large Sequoia and Highlander SUVs and Tundra pickups as fast as it gets them. Vista's Chevrolet outlet does its biggest volume in Suburban and Tahoe SUVs.
   Padre Ford and Crosstown Ford both report that the Mustang beats out the fuel-efficient Focus as their highest-volume car. The F-series pickups are their biggest seller, they said.
   Dealers say the availability of zero-percent financing in the aftermath of Sept. 11 has encouraged consumers to buy better, which generally means buying bigger.
   "It's a matter of personal choice," says Tim Ackard, CEO and co-owner of Crosstown Ford. "If someone wants a vehicle that gets upward of 40 mpg, they are out there and available."
   Manufacturers fill demand
   After the attacks last month, a bunch of energy experts said that the best way to reduce our dependence on Mideast oil, and thus improve our national security, is to produce and drive more fuel-efficient cars.
   "You could take that argument to the extreme and say we should all be riding bicycles," Ackard says, "but the fact of the matter is that people in this country want to drive sport utility vehicles and that trend continues. The manufacturers hear these criticisms, if you will, and they try to be conscious of that line of thinking. But if they don't create vehicles that people want to buy, then they aren't doing their jobs. And all indications are that manufacturers will continue to create vehicles that fill the demand."
   'It's a hard sell in the U.S.'
   Earlier this month, the annual report on new car models' fuel efficiency said the overall average for all models is 21 mpg. That's slightly better than last year's 20.4, but last year was a 21-year low. The report confirmed that our appetite for large SUVs continues unabated.
   Meanwhile, don't look for the Smart Car at the local Mercedes dealership, Ed Hicks Imports. There's still some question whether the car will carry the Mercedes badge, and whether it would be sold at free-standing dealerships.
   "I think it'd be cool but I don't see the American public buying it," says Adam Stern, the Mercedes sales manager at Ed Hicks. "It's a hard sell in the U.S., to get somebody comfortable in a small car."
  
  

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