smart featured in South Bend Tribune article

[driven2succeed]

Owners say fuel-sipping cars draw looks, generate questions

MOOR OR LESS

By BILL MOOR
Tribune columnist

Tracy Burkart bought her little Smart Fortwo car because she thought it was cute.

"I saw one in the movie, 'Just Married,' and I cracked up," says Tracy, a hygienist in her husband Jim's Mishawaka dental practice. "It made me laugh."

Tom Selsor, an owner of Berkeley Realty in Granger, bought his Smart car for another reason.


"I'm a warrior in the fight to save planet Earth," he states.

OK.

"And I think it's cute, too."

There you go.

Earlier this week, Tom and Tracy brought their Smart cars — yellow and black in color, respectively — to downtown South Bend not only to share their fond feelings about their little chuggers but also to show they could share the same parking spot.

You can do that when your cars are only 8 feet and 8 inches long.

So right across from The Tribune, they pulled their cars nose-first into the curb side-by side.

Traffic on the road just about stopped, too.

"You always get that kind of reaction," Tom says. "People can't help but look at my car and smile."

You almost expect a clown to get out of the front seat.

"People are five times more likely to talk to me now because of my car," Tom says. "For an old curmudgeon like me, that's a good thing."

"People have a great time looking at it," Tracy adds. "They are always asking what it is."

Even though there are only a handful of Smart cars in the Michiana area, some folks are well aware of them — especially after seeing them in several movies.


"We had a young guy look at our car and say, 'Oh, dude, Smart car,' and my wife answered, 'Oh, smart kid,' " Tom says.

The Smart cars are made in Europe by Mercedes-Benz and have not been available in the United States that long.

"Right now, there is an 18-month waiting list for them," Tom says. "And this area can only buy them at Loeber Motors in Chicago."

"I was a little cautious driving mine home on the Toll Road but I did get it up to 70," Tom says.

Tracy grins. "More like 80 for me."

The two-seat, three-cylinder Smart cars are fairly cheap and can get more than 40 miles a gallon on the highway.

"But they aren't luxury cars," Tom says. "You can feel every bump. And if you get a flat, all you have room for is a can of Fix-a-Flat.

"Then you look in the rearview mirror and think, 'Where is the rest of my car?' "