Why I Love the Smart Car.

[NukleoN]

Greetings dear purveyors of fine mini-sub-compact driving machinery.

This morning, after much reflection and reading of poor reviews regarding the Smart™Car only hours after I took delivery of a 2009 White Passion ForTwo, I've decided to write this treatise about why I love the Smart car, and other thoughts. I knew on some instinctual level that bad reviews of the Smart Car, while not wholly unjustified or even always inaccurate, are often just category errors.

As a longtime motorcycle rider and fan of the sport, I realized that many of the complaints about the Smart are identical to the irrational fears or unmitigated panic people project regarding my two-wheeled 'Passion', as it were. Dressed in leathers at the store with helmet and gloves in hand, people will ask, 'Aren't you hot in those leathers' or, 'Aren't you afraid what will happen if you're mowed down by a Mack truck or SUV?' (same thing in many cases) or, 'what do you do when it rains?' (this is in sunny Southern California, mind you), and a litany of other projected fears about practicality, death and dying, being able to carry a refrigerator, etc.

The Smart Car is no different. Like a motorcycle, the Smart can't do a lot of things, and your Honda Fit can't enjoy the wonders of solo-carpool lane travel, lane split or go 0-60 in under 3 seconds, can it? It's a simple category error. The Smart car cannot be compared directly to other cars, because it's unique in its class. Yes, there are faster, safer, sexier cars out there, but they're not smart cars and they take too much space. Same with a motorcycle. It's easy to improve upon the downsides of a motorcycle, but then it wouldn't be a motorcycle! Simply adding weight with bags and other stuff to a bike changes how it handles, slows it down, affects cornering. Adding another wheel makes it a trike, and it's a tough compromise which gains some safety but loses a huge amount of the fun factor. Inherently, two wheels are just more dangerous, but the rewards are tremendous.

See, what I've suddenly (or perhaps slowly) realized is that people make category errors all the time regarding the comparison of items, and vehicles are no exception. Yes, the smart is slow, but not unmanageably slow. It can reasonably tote around two full-sized people with some effort, skill and a little seat-time with a Smart. It's got a tiny engine because it is a tiny, lightweight car. The tiny factor is precisely why many of us love this thing, including me. I fell in love at first sight, and most cars simply do not have that effect on me. I mean, this car actually increases the usable space of your garage, carport or parking spot, effectively buying you real estate you didn't really have before. To many, that is a substantial freedom.

Sure, I could buy a Honda Fit (which is effectively a station wagon), but then I no longer have the enormous benefit of the smart's small size, and suddenly I am carrying around doors I won't need most of the time as well as empty seats. To someone else, this is a worthy trade, but for me, I'd be in a boring car that no longer enjoys the benefit of real-estate expansion everywhere I go. It would be an unacceptable compromise.

Just as people are horrified that I could ride a motorcycle in the rain or heck, at ALL, using their own values of comfort and practicality as a standard for me, people are often quick to apply their standards to our Smart Cars. Yes, of course I could get a car with 4 doors, a more powerful engine, a better tranny, equivalent mileage (or close to it), a cheaper cost, but guess what, that would also rule out any exotic car and any type of non-4-door high MPG vehicle. Honda Del Sol? Same argument. Toyota MR2? Right out. A Ducati 1098 in factory livery? Gone. With these arguments against Smart cars, we'd all be driving Honda Civics. What a boring world that would be.

My view is, I love my motorcycles, and my Smartcar, precisely because they are not boring, cookie-cutter, jack-of-all-trades master-of-none humdrum also-rans. When I show up at a store in full leathers and where it's painfully clear that I am a motorcycle rider, I enjoy not being the person in the gigantic land-barge buying a 12 pack of soda with colossal wasted space, as I throw a 12 pack right in my backpack. Yes, I risk dying on a bike (and perhaps in a SmartCar), but the cost of living is the risk of dying. The degree to which you live fully is up to you. Taking the safe road, especially if it's not satisfying, is just a slow, safe death.

Yes, on a motorcycle, it can get cold or hot (though there are ways to remedy this), and yeah, it can be harrowing in the rain if I drive like an idiot without working within the limits of how 2-wheeled vehicles deal with rain-slicked streets. You run the risk of falling off at speed, sliding on the road you were just riding on (this happened to me recently, though I was relatively unscathed due to my riding suit and other protection).

The Smart car is no different, in that it has to be taken for what it is. Working within the nature of the vehicle, you can enjoy all it has to offer. It's tiny size is unmatched. It's simply the best at being a tiny car, hands-down, no compromise. There are huge benefits with that. It's got great mileage, but at the cost of Premium fuel. My 2005 Yamaha R1 insists on premium fuel, and probably gets similar mileage but without the benefit of a Tridiom rollcage and premium stereo.

My 2007 Suzuki GSX-R bucked me off on the 405, and it was frightening, but the sheer freedom and enjoyment I get from motorcycles is unmatched by any comfort I'd get from the humdrum practicality of a regular vehicle, because you simply can't compare cars to motorcycles fairly. I'd run into trouble just comparing a motorcycle to a Smart Car. Likewise, the SmartCar is its own beast. It's not a Fit or a Ford Escort or Mini, but what it does, it does exceedingly well, and it will just get better.

I do not want to blend in, or make-do with mediocrity or cost-savings with the tradeoff of humdrum blandness. My car gives me real estate when it's parked, and you can't turn that off. It's a statement to everyone about how small a car can be and still be functional. It's a tribute to minimalist philosophy and progressive-thinking. In a way, it's a vote. Your smart car is a vote for change toward a new paradigm of conservation and space-efficiency.

It's an investment in the *only* mini-sub-compact you can buy on American shores that I am aware of, and an assurance to the competition (and Smart) that we Americans are ready for lots of new mini-sub-compacts which are better and better, until the SUV goes the way of the dinosaur (or are used by those who really need them and not a statement of mindless vehicular expansionism).

Sure, the person who showed up in the Expedition to get some small item from the store might snigger at me in my motorcycle leathers, but when I am blasting by them in the carpool lane as they roll in procession at 10 mph in traffic, or when I legally lane-split by them, they become painfully aware of why I ride, and just one of many reasons.

Same with the Smart. What it does, it does very well, and it will only get better. Being early-adopters, we are supporting a paradigm shift, and taking pride in not being like everyone else. We vote for choices to fit our varying lifestyles, and show we're not all afraid to take some risk to put that progressive-thinking into action. Smart will notice, other companies will notice this embrace of the mini-sub-compact, and eventually (or sooner), things will change. Look at what the early adopters of the Beetle did for the small-car market in America.

People may have their reasons why they drive other cars, so be it. But with the Smart, you have room for your car AND their car.....or a motorcycle. There's something to be said for that.

[JD10367]

If they handed out Internet Oscars, I'd nominate you for the award. Excellent post.

I love my car. Easy to drive, easy to turn, easy to park. Fun transmission, easy to stop the car with the brakes, nice height advantage, airy cabin with lots of light, awesome clear Passion roof, great on mileage, roomier for the driver than most cars, an eye-catcher, great headlights, and--last but not least--makes me smile, snort, and say out loud, "That car is so damn cute!" every time I look at him (even after seven months now).

For every look of scorn I've gotten, or every, "I'd be so afraid to drive that deathtrap!", I've gotten at least five "I love your car!"s from people.

Best thing I ever bought.

[NukleoN]

Thanks so much for reading. I had to edit a few things for clarity (and fix typos), but yeah, it's all been swimming around in my head. I was at a disconnect about why I loved this car, and why I see so much animosity toward it (I purposely ignored the choir for a bit listening to the hecklers). ;D Then it dawned on me, no matter what you buy, someone will find a way to impose their values on your life. A car is slower than a motorcycle, can't carry as much as a truck. You can never win.

Sometimes, the question is the culprit. Why is a cat not a dog? Why is a Smart not a Mini? It is what it is, and I love it.

[forestacademy]

Nice Post, Glad to have you in the group.

[deltadart]

Great post. NOW if there were more dealers.......

[eqwalker]

Excellent read! I have had my (first) smart now for a year and a half (received it on Jan 26th 2008) and have racked up 33k miles on it. So, by now, I believe any "newness" of the car has worn off (especially since I drive it to work 5 days a week) and I can honestly say that I still look forward to my 30 minute drives to and from work every day of the week. The car is just a hoot to drive. I liked it so much so that I bought another one (2009 Brabus cabrio back in Mar. 09) as a weekend car to enjoy with the top down. They sit in the garage, one behind the other, while my other sports car takes the other side. Who would have thought that you could fit 3 cars and a motorcycle in a two car garage?? My neighbors had a laugh...

[parrothead]

Excellent post. I totally agree with you.

[bigcritter]

Absolutely wonderful post!!! I've had my smartie since May 9th, 2008, and I love it even more NOW than the day I drove it off the showroom floor! :>) Right now, as I'm writing this, I'm waiting for my decal/transfer guy to come by and make my car "whole" again! After hitting the raccoon awhile back, I had to have the right front fender section replaced, which meant I lost a part of the graphic. So...... hopefully he'll be by soon, and I can't wait to have everything back to the way it's SUPPOSED to be. I still look forward to driving my car to work each day, even after all this time, and I feel deprived if I HAVE to drive another vehicle! :>( Heck, some days I still just go for a drive in the country before I have to go to work in the afternoon! :>) In fact, tomorrow my wife and I are going to the beach for a Sand Castle competition, and we're taking our Dane & two little dogs, so we'll be taking the camper van. So.... I'm trying to figure out......HOW can I take smartie TOO??!! :>)

[NeWave]

Excellent post indeed. 7 months later I'm still making excuses to go for a drive, dispite it's "temperment" issues. I've only gotten about 1 heckle to 9 "Oh it's so cute I want one!". Oh, and the usual odd/confused looks and smiles/laughs to go with it. Although I'll admit, I won't miss the attention when it's gone. :-p
As NukleoN said, this car (and his motorcycle!) is "not boring, cookie-cutter, jack-of-all-trades master-of-none humdrum also-rans." It's why I got it. It's different. It's me! And I beleive we all love it for that reason, if i'm not mistaken.

[dovienya]

*applause*

I second that nomination for an internet Oscar!