Smart Car of America - Smart Cabriolet in Canada Cost More

Smart Cabriolet in Canada Cost More

These drivers-in-arms are not without courage since they're venturing onto highways with what look like fairground bumper cars. The Smart ForTwo -- the first model introduced in Canada -- weighs just 730 kilograms, about half as much as an SUV.

But James contends she has never felt unsafe, even while driving to Vermont with her husband, Brian. (Their Labrador retriever, Squirt, and luggage fit in the hatch.)

"We've never had a close call, anything that would make me think, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die,'" says James, a technical writer. "One guy said to me, 'You wouldn't want to hit a deer in that thing.' But I wouldn't want to hit a deer in anything."

Ellis, too, says he feels safe in his micro-compact, although he worries about his visibility. "Aggressive drivers are a problem," he says.

Thanks to its intelligent design, the Smart has received four stars in Europe's five-star crash rating system for new vehicles. The car's passenger cabin is framed in high-strength steel; the engine is mounted under the rear floor and the seats are raised to protect passengers in the event of a side collision.

Still, gas mileage remains the Smart car's most talked-about quality.

On websites, Smart car devotees write reverentially about breaking the 700-kilometre mark on a single tank and they post their best results -- 2.8 L/100 km -- from their ScanGauge, a dashboard computer that offers a real-time readout of fuel consumption. (Light trucks average 12.7 L/100 km, according to Transport Canada.)

According to federal statistics, greenhouse gases from cars, trucks and planes have increased 32 per cent during the past 15 years, even though emissions technology has improved during that time. The popularity of SUVs and other light trucks has played a significant role: research shows the average SUV produces about one-third more carbon dioxide -- a major greenhouse gas -- per kilometre than the average passenger car.

About 10,000 Smart Cars have been sold in Canada since 2004, but that represents a tiny fraction of the more than five million vehicles sold since then.

But the small car revolution may be gathering momentum.

A gasoline-powered version of the Smart will hit the U.S. in January and Daimler AG chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche recently announced his company has more initial orders -- 30,000 -- than it can build. Last month, U.S. sales results also revealed the Honda Fit and Toyota Prius more than doubled their November sales figures.

Auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers says Canadians are already further down the small car road than Americans: "Canadians are one of the most conscientious vehicle-buying publics in the world: We drive vehicles less than Americans and we buy smaller vehicles."

Many drivers hedge their bets. Ellis, for example, bought his "Smarty" as a city car to reduce the mileage on his Land Rover Discovery. "Is this the future? For me," he says, "it's one step in that direction, but I don't think everyone will be driving them because we live in Canada -- and it's hard to go camping or to the cottage with it. But I love it. I drive it all over the place while the Rover sits in the driveway."

James and her husband recently purchased their second Smart car.

James believes it will take time for Canadian roads to become more like those in Europe, where small cars own narrow city streets across the continent. "I think it's a matter of people here catching up, realizing we don't need the big, big cars; we can get around in a smaller car just as well."

Source: Canwest News Service by Andrew Duffy

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