Took delivery this afternoon of my bumblebee smart at Bev Hills Mercedes. Vinnie was running around crazed with all the stuff happening on a busy Saturday. This is the first weekend with cars on the showroom floor, so lots of folks stopping by. I was the first delivery of the day. The car was still up on the rack getting checked out when i arrived around 11 am, and drove away at 3 pm after doing all the paperwork, handing over my check and Amex card ($5,000 max on the card) and signing my name a few dozen times.
Guys and gals at the dealership are very friendly, but most are new, so I ended up knowing more than most of them. The finance lady was doing her first smart (she usually does Benz and Maybachs. The add on stuff she sells is pretty pricey, but I did go for a $499 LoJack (forgot the alarm system at configuration), but passed on the $1200 "paint protection package" after I explained there is not a whole lot of paint on a smart, and I could get all new panels for $1000. That may make sense on a SL, but not the smart.
Taxes and fees were as expected, $55 doc, $645 destination per sticker, CA sales tax and CA DMV registration. Got the $399 extra year smart warranty and got my $99 credit from the reservation. Their computer said the invoice was only $36 more than what i paid, not sure where their profit is, but its there somewhere. The margins smart promised were 7% INCLUDING the 2% in market bonus to the dealer.
After a quick spin in the demo cablrio so I could hear about what to expect when I took mine, they brought my yellow one around front.
I took off down Santa Monica Blvd., turned down Rodeo Drive (yes that one) just because I could. This is a busy street with lots of folks on the sidewalk (tourists) and lots of cars. Driving along with the limos, a Porsche and a fire engine Ferrari, guess who got pointed at and noticed? ME! In a car that was $17,500 out the door!
Headed down Wilshire past the "Beverly Hills Cop" hotel, turned past the Beverly Hilton hotel were the Golden Globes wern't last week and headed down Santa Monica Blvd. to the freeway.
First few blocks I was getting used to the shifting. I was playing around with the paddles, stick and the gas pedal to get things smooth. After about 3-4 miles I got the hang of it. Let your foot off the gas just before it shifts automatically (you'll feel when after a while) or in manual, hit the right paddle (the +) lighten up on the gas. It will shift, your foot goes back down on tha gas again just like in a manual shifter, and everything is wonderfully smooth. Hold down the gas, let it shift itself, you'll feel the clutch go out and in. No problem, after 1/2 day of driving its now a piece of cake, just give yourself a little time to get into the rythem. A lot easier than an manual with clutch (actually feels like that) and more responsive than my Prius with the constant velocity transmission.
Got on the 405 Freeway and merged very easily on the busy freeway. I was able to cut in between two cars with no problem (going about 45 there). Transitioned onto the 10 towards the beach, moving right along with no problem at all. Got up to about 70 when it cleared up, the car seemd to follow the pavement groves, nothing you can't handle.
Ran through the tunnel at the end of the freeway, coming out to the blue Pacific Ocean. After dropping picking up the wife who was driving my old car home, we headed up Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu. Stopping at lights, folks would smile and wave. This is the "rock star" treatment they were talking about. Lots of stares and double takes from other drivers as we weld our way north along the coast.
We stopped in Malibu for something to eat. Parallel parked the car (too easy) and found an outside table where I could keep an eye on my baby while we ate. Its amazing to watch people walk by my car. Some stop, point, walk around and look inside. Some give it long glances, with some great double takes. One guy started taking pictures. Other groups of people would gather and talk about it.
When done, i walked over to the car and immediately people started asking me questions as soon as I opened the door (love the smart key that unlocks the car, the lights blink once for open, three times for locked.) This is going to be a problem if I have to be somewhere!
After heading further up the coast to take pictures (got them all for you guys, nearly 100 shots), we headed back down towards Sunset Blvd., with the sun setting in the ocean. Got a final few shots, headed back into town for some ice cream (more looky loos as usual including one gal taking videos of me driving down Sunset Blvd.).
The smart is home now, in the garage that now has a whole lot more space than the RX 300 used to take up.
Tomorrow some more running around town having fun. This car makes it fun to drive, 55 miles today and the gas gauge hasn't moved yet.
Throw up some questions, I'll try to answer them. Here's a link to my Picassa web album (it loads pretty quickly). Enjoy!
Slideshow:
http://picasaweb.google.com/spdickey...98396320974322
Gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/spdickey...erBeverlyHills
1976 Rover Mini
2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (SOLD)
2009 smart Passion (Gone)
2011 smart Passion
Today
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