What is it about a smart that is special.

[bsnyder100]

Originally Posted by bigcritter

Very True! That's why I said that he needs to justify for himself based upon his situation! I'm about an hour away from smartcenter Seattle, which is far-and-away better than a LOT of dealers that you hear about on this forum. I also have a 2005 Chevy Aveo, a 1994 Mazda B3000, and a 1993 Horizon 17' (Van) Motorhome, so I'm pretty well covered in packing/taking just about anything that I want. If I want to haul my Great Dane along, it's the Aveo or the van. If I want to haul trash, 2x4s, etc, it's the truck. So.........not knowing what someone's lifestyle is all about, what their finances are like (especially since "14 big ones" was mentioned, which to some people is a LOT of money, and to others......not so much), are there children to be transported, how many members of the family, large pets, etc. etc. The criteria for making that determination can be very long, and is something that's a personal choice!!

no kids, money not an issue.

[bsnyder100]

Since when was 6-3 not huge.

[rawlus®]

the smart is not a practical car.
there is no smart reason to buy it.
i think most people purchase things because they like them and they want them.
it's economy is good.
it's price is decent, nearly half most cars, but it's also half the size.
it is not a vanilla car, it is unique in a sea of sameness.
it will be on the expensive side to maintain due to foreign parts and proprietary service departments.
it is an enthusiasts car, an early adopters car.
it will be less-reliable than most mainstream cars.
it is a car for people who want to make a statement with their vehicle, it is not a vehicle for those who want to blend into the background.

[jsmikesh]

I fell in love with the smart the first time I saw it... It has all of the safety features I want and it is very green, yeah for mother earth...

It doesn't have all the excessive stuff I don't need, like a back seat. I don't haul a lot of kids or critters so there is really no need to have it! Now, I do have another vehicle just in case I do decided to carry around more than one other person... But for most of us commuting back and forth to work, or zipping to the grocery store, gym or what ever, we only take ourselves thus having 3 or more empty seats that you are lugging around, that is very inefficient. Sure there are plenty of other 2 seater cars out there, but they cost 2-3 times more and are not as fuel efficient or environmentally friendly or make you feel small in traffic....

Bottom line for me, why drive a huge vehicle if you only need a smart!

[bottlerocket]

Originally Posted by bsnyder100

no kids, money not an issue.

Then what are you waiting for???

Seriously though getting back to your practicality question, since money is not an issue would you consider having more than one car?

I would say you need to redefine 'practicality'. We all have a view of what "practical" is, and we want to squeeze as many 'needs' into one car as we possibly can. We want it to haul a lot of things, a lot of people, get great gas mileage, have power for when we need it, yet be smooth as a cadillac.

The smart takes our "one car that does everything" mentality and throws it out the window. The fact is 95% of the time we drive by ourselves and we're not hauling anything from one place to another. What do we do? We drive to work, run errands, go grocery shopping. Do we need as much car as we have been TOLD we need for those things? Not really.

A lot of us have SUV's sitting in the garage or driveway now because we no longer need them. We don't NEED that much car to drive to work, run errands or go grocery shopping (by the way, a number of us have gone to costco and done just fine with capacity). All you need is a fun-to-drive, easily maneuverable vehicle that just happens to give great gas mileage. Yeah it doesn't haul a refrigerator or more than two people, outrun a porsche, make you feel like you're lounging on a sofa, but so what?

Once you're able to see that 'practicality' is a subliminal message we've received over the years that told us an SUV was the way to go, you'll realize you don't need as much car as you thought you did.

Then you'll be able to enjoy $30 fillups like us, knowing that this little car can do almost everything you need, and it'll do it with a smile.

[sbernali]

I love my Smart its like being at Disneyland all the time but without the tracks! HeHe

[JIM VINYARD]

bottlerocket, you said it, that's it in a nut shell. I totally AGREE.

[sbernali]

I love my Smart its like being at Disneyland all the time but without the tracks! HeHe

[PerryA]

I agree it's partly attitude.

I saw the Smart in Europe 10 years ago and decided it was a very practical and attractive solution - 90% plus of my driving is one person or two people in the car. It makes a statement that I am willing to buy what I need, not just consume for the sake of consuming.

Fun is part of the attitude as well. I like the Yaris for practicality, but it doesn't carry the same fun factor.

That said, I can't resist coming up with some semi-humourous responses for people.

When someone said how much they liked the "new car smell" I told them the Smart didn't come with a new car smell - there wasn't room for it.

I've also said that we have a pug, so we sized the car to fit the dog.

I have also told people I got tired of my wife piling all kinds of things into my Rav 4, so now she has the big car (Scion Xa).

[txtrucker1]

I think every grandma out to have a snazzy little convertale to run around in. It fits my personality. FUN, FUN, FUN!