Owning a Smart and Schadenfruede

[bradgarbus]

The gas prices seem to be hitting to stores more now. I went grocery shopping this past weekend and the bill increased by like 40%! Ouch. It hadn't really hit here until then, now everything is going up. Kinda scary when one lives paycheck to paycheck, with no break in sight of these prices ever going down... Glad I am paying cash for the smart. It will make everything else more bearable.

[bigcritter]

All I know is, as I was sitting inside Arby's yesterday having lunch, and looking out at my little blue smart, I watched Prius after Prius drive by, and I remember right after they came out, I wanted one. They were so hard to get that the dealers were gouging people like crazy because they KNEW THEY COULD!! NOW..........there's TONS of them out there! They're really COMMON! HOWEVER, in two weeks of driving the I-5 corridor here is Washington, I have YET to see another FORTWO while driving!! So.......in comparison to NOT being one of the first to own a Prius, I FEEL like I'm on the front wave with the smart fortwo!! Yes, I know there were some 450 owners out there somewhere before we got our 451s, but still............

[SuperGeek]

The Prius had a 2-year waiting list. I think the Mini had something like that too. Now both of those are common. The novelty of the smart will wear off in a year or two.

I for one hope that we see a million smarts on the roads. Fewer SUVs means safer roads. Sure, the sheer mass makes the SUV safer in an impact because it's the bully and the smaller car takes more of the force, but that means we currently have 3-4 ton projectiles instead of the 0.9 ton projectile named 'smart.' My wife bought our Explorer because she felt unsafe in anything smaller, for mass and for not being able to see through the Ford F350s that are so common here, whose truck beds haven't hauled anything ** can't let it get scratched, now, gotta impress the ladies. *

Now those same F350 drivers can't figure out what I'm driving or why I'd want to. If I can get just a few of them to finish the thought, and end with "well, maybe I don't need all this truck..." then I've done my part to help.

Ironically, I feel safer in my smart surrounded by three huge trucks than I do in the Explorer. I know the Tridion cell won't budge. I'm pretty sure a truck could push my Explorer's doors in and injure me.


* This sounds like stereotype but I've actually heard it.

[MPrice2984]

Everyday on my commute to Chicago (60 miles each way) the people who just have to pass everyone are in the biggest vehicles - Tahoes, F150s, etc. I'm not talking about people doing 5-10mph over the limit, but 20mph or better. These same people are the ones that go off the road in bad conditions like snow or rain, AND always only 1 person in them. In the 40 years I have been driving I have never understood the need to drive big cars, not even for comfort or carrying capacity.
I saw an article this morning that said the US car makers will have to spend twice as much as much to comply with the new CAFE standards. It is GM, FORD and CHRYSLERS fault once again that they are in this boat, just like the early 70's all over again. They never learned earlier that maybe the population really needed economy even when gas seemed cheap, so they produced what they wanted. Look at what they push in their ads -400hp Mustangs, 500hp Corvettes, etc. GM and Ford have great cars in Europe but didn't take the time to add what was needed to sell true world cars. I feel sorry for their workers who are talking the economic beatings caused by their bosses lack of foretought.
Time to get off my soapbox and get a cup of coffee.

[SuperGeek]

That's the American corporation for you. I read a few years back that most Japanese corporations had a 50 year plan - not set in stone, but enough to get serious vision. American corporations by comparison had a 3-5 year plan. That means that in 1980 while GM was looking at hair bands, Toyota and Honda probably started thinking of the next gas crisis and prepared in advance; that's why they're doing so well compared to GM, Ford, etc.


I've got to respect the Japanese culture and business model for its forward thinking, even if it does drive some of its people insane. I think if we as a society learned to think 30-50 years in the future, instead of saying, "I'll be dead by then so it won't affect me," then our children won't be laid off by GM, and they'll still have jobs to support their aging parents.

[BHSpecialist]

For those of you new to Schadenfruede, it's pronounced Sha-Den-Froy-Duh. Fantastic concept, very well explained and glorified in the song by the same name in the musical Avenue Q.

"To the woman trying to get you to hold the elevator door, F*** you lady, that's what stairs are for!"

What a glorious concept, and the smart helps you experience it very well. My favorite method is taking parking spots other people would only dream of fitting in. Sucka!!!


- Nathan, your friendly neighborhood brand specialist