Is the Smart car treated badly by American car magazines and the official press?

[JPaul]

Thank you paul c: I didn't realize that the link I posted was for "members only"...

[tverb]

"Special Earth Day Double Issue"
In thirty pages titled "the green issue" smart appears in one chart on page 37.
That's it! Nothing in any of the stories. Hmmm?

[BobbyBRD]

I have been defending my smart ever since i moved here in oct of '03. be it the one i had or the one i"m getting.

I'll try to repeat it here to see if people see it the same way.

If driven proberly, very laid back i mean, you can easily achieve very close to 50mpg. that said you get milage most motorcycle cruisers are getting. The big difference lies in the fact that i can heat my behind, stay dry, stay cool, listen to music AND be very save. + anyone can drive a car but it takes some extra skill to handle a smart. (although that can be a disadvantage also)

Bobby

PS: I can take all body panels, the dash, seats and carpet out of a 450 in under 60 minutes. Who can say that about any other car?

[Big Panda]

i've been defending MY smart and i don't even have it yet! i tell everyone that we've ordered one and most of the reaction i get is negative. "What are you thinking? You'll get KILLED in that thing!" or some other kind of derogatory remark.

i tell them the actual reasons why we ARE getting one and all i hear is "Don't be giving me a bunch of BS trying to justify your decision to buy that thing." EXCUSE ME.......it's MY purchase and MY money, thank you very much!

that's why i hang out here on this forum so much. at least i'm around others that can appreciate the decision to buy a smart.

[Kandi]

Hang in there Jeepster55 - it's worth it! Like a lot of others have already said, it's the criteria used to arrive at your final evaluation that's important. That's where the critics have missed the boat. Who says that the sum total of a car can be defined as how fast it can get to 60, or that bigger is safer? Driving the smart is a unique, fun and may I add, 'safe' driving experience and one that keeps getting more rewarding on many levels as time goes by. With oil hitting $119.00 a barrel this morning, I expect many of those negative comments will sheepishly melt into, "Where can I get one?", sooner than you might think.

[NY Smartie]

the free market handles everything best. the less government involvement, the better. once the price of gas here in the US got so stupidly high, people started reacting.

producers and buyers are shifting to even more economical cars. Smart will do great in this regard, just like all the hybrid cars and high-gas-mileage cars have been doing already.