[Dale Christensen]

It is obvious from the lack of threads on this site that there are not many people in Utah driving Smarts. I have had mine for about a year, and I have only seen approximately 6 other Smart cars on the road. It would help if we had a real dealer, other than one in Lindon to purchase and service these cars. The accessories at the dealer are non-existent, but then, when you can cell the "big cars" for six figures, who cares about the little ones.
I would love to see a real car dealer for these, and then I would consider owning one for the long haul. As it is, I cannot ever see purchasing one again as there is just not enough after market support. Your comments welcomed.

 

[chieftmc]

Try here: Smart Madness

 

[tblackley]

Some of us are in Park City

There is at least 5+ of us in Park City.

I;ve owned mine for almost 2 years and drive to / from SLC every day. I'll see a couple on the freeway down there plus another person in my office has one.

We have them, we just drive them for work.

 

[proudSmartOwner]

Smart cars in Provo

I've seen at least 3 smart cars around Provo, and there's another one now on th e road, too! (after my recent purchase). I am very pleased with the car... How does the smart do in the snow? Would you guys recommend winter/snow tires or not? I go up Provo canyon quite a bit up to Midway/Park City...

 

[proudSmartOwner]

BYU Police Smart Car

Oh I forgot, the BYU police purchased a white smart car at the beginning of this year... Sometimes you catch it driving around campus

 

[bob/cathy]

Yes it would be nice to have more than one dealer.However we were just there,500 mile round trip,Restraint repair,under warrenty, al thoe we are a little over.Bought 3 spark plugs,probly need them by March,which will be two years for our Smart. !$18 may sound like a lot but our Ford 07 f150 ,they cost just as much.You get twice the mialage but we need 8 of them.
Got 2 new tires for the front,November so got the blizzards,boy,what a differance getting thoes origanals off the car.Already have them on the back.

 

[radar231]

Well this one was there for at least a few days a few weeks ago. Anyone recognize our new country cottage in the background?

.
I think it was the only CDI in the city.

 

[jmtk78]

There is at least 5+ of us in Park City.

I;ve owned mine for almost 2 years and drive to / from SLC every day. I'll see a couple on the freeway down there plus another person in my office has one.

We have them, we just drive them for work.

I don't own a Smart (yet...) but think it would make a great commuter car. One of my big concerns, however, is how well it goes up Parley's, as that is my daily commute, too. I'd appreciate hearing your comments on its uphill performance. Can you maintain the speed limit easily? What about passing on the climb? How about your commuting MPG? Do you drive it in the serious snow, too? I'm thinking I'd keep the Subaru for the winter storm days.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Kathleen Cadman]

Ogden Smart Car

I live in Ogden, and commute to Murray every day for work in my bright yellow Smart Car. For my job, I drive all over the Wasatch Front, from Brigham City to Spanish Fork. I see 3-4 other Smart Cars a month driving around. I wish there were enough of us to be able to do panel swaps. Yellow is nice for visibility, but is just a bit bright for my personal taste.

 

[ktroyh]

I drive mine to Park City for business and I think people are surprised at the sight of me passing them in Parley's. Near Mountain Dell and the summit I will shift down to 4th. If it is really windy you might need 3rd but it has no trouble doing the speed limit although I usually go faster. (I didn't say that!)

 

[jmtk78]

Near Mountain Dell and the summit I will shift down to 4th.

Thanks for the info! I've got to shift into 4th in the Subaru at those two places, too. Glad to hear the smart does so well. Any feel for your MPG when driving the canyons?

Thanks!

 

[ladybug41]

I live in my motor home and tow my 2009 Smartie - Easy to tow, great conversation starter, and so zippy to get around in. I spend Spring and Summer in SLC.

 

[TriumphRider]

Hi:

I relocated my 2008 Smart from the West Palm Beach, FL area to Park City, UT-We drove it cross country-about 2700 miles and it was comfortable with no problems-other that crazy cross winds in West Texas.

See you on the road.

P.S. Would be interested in hooking up with others in Park City for a ski trip to Alta, Snowbird. Lots of fun driving in a group.

 

[dionkraft]

I'm in Saint George - well technically Washington City - and I have not found ANY smartcars here on CARS dot com, I have to goto Vegas as they are the closest listings so far. MAYBE I will be the FIRST one here to get one? I am planning to buy one and park it in my future Toy Trailer garage ! My 2007 6.1 Diesel Dodge extracab Dually should do the trick.

 

[timhood]

Someone had to be first

We were the first people to buy a smart car in Utah. Back in Feb '08, we were not surprised at all of the looks and comments and questions we got. What surprises us is that we still get some looks, comments and questions. You'd have thought people would know about smart cars by now. I think that shows the lack of presence in Utah. We probably have a lower ownership rate in Utah because large families cannot see the use of a two-seat car.

In our travels, whoever has to go the farthest takes the smart car. I see a few other smarts from time to time, but I suspect I may be seeing the same ones over and over again mostly.

While we've been generally satisfied with it, it would be hard to consider buying another. In the 4+ years, nothing significant has changed with the smart while other, larger cars are coming along and getting equivalent gas mileage. If I were buying today, I could see myself more likely buying a Focus or similar car. Hopefully, there will be an upgrade to the smart that would make it more compelling vs. the competition today. Meanwhile, we'll keep driving this one, as it saves us money with every mile driven vs. our other choices.

 

[jwight]

In the 4+ years, nothing significant has changed with the smart while other, larger cars are coming along and getting equivalent gas mileage.

You nailed it; the 451 will have to soldier on until the next gen smart (453) gets here in a couple of years. My personal opinion only, but if that car doesn't get 50 mpg highway it's DOA.

 

[l'alpe]

Hope it's ok to awaken this thread in the inactive Utah Chapter section.

Smart car sales looked very healthy at the Lindon dealer on Tuesday when I bought mine. They had lots of them on the lot, displayed out front prominently and had several people shopping them. I was going to test drive a Pure but someone bought it before I got the chance ;-) I ended up with a white Passion because the other Pure they had on the lot didn't have AC. The sales guy who worked with me was knowledgeable about Smarts, had three of them in his family and showed me his Smart parked out front so I could see how he did his home-made bike hitch. The Lindon dealer said they charge a different, lower, rate for work done on Smarts than they do for regular M-Bs there which is a good dealer practice for Smarts. I read Tim's initial difficulty with his purchase there a few years ago and just wanted to report that the Lindon dealer seemed very good to work with now. I live in a canyon not far from the dealer so it's handy to have it close by.

I was interested in the Pure because I like the combination of manual roll up windows plus central locking. My other auto is a Jeep wrangler so I guess I'm spartan.

Also I don't mind either way about the clear roof and am skeptical of it allowing to much cabin heat in Utah summers, even with the sun shield. But everyone else likes the view up top and it might be nice for driving in the mountains where looking up at the peaks is nice. Plus the passion had all the other extras I like so it was the best choice.

As others asked here on this thread, I am interested in what it's like to drive up Parley's--I often go that route as part of my commute. Thanks for the other responses here and I'll add my own impression as soon as I try it. My own house is on a canyon road at about 20 % grade so steeper than any highways in the canyons. The Smart seems to zing right up this steep road so I'm not too worried about canyon highways.

Also curious to see how it does in the snow. Getting up or down a 20% grade with snow or ice is a special challenge and sometimes I see cars in free fall down my road when icy. My Jeep does fine, and even my wife's Honda does ok with snow tires, but will be interested to see how the Smart does.

 

[SmartCarVlogs]

How many of y'all go out to Wendover, Nevada? I have seen two different smarts in the parking garages out the Nugget.

 

[MicksCamaro]

I'll be making the trip from eastern Oregon to Salt Lake for two weeks (job training) in the middle of the month. Sounds like I'll be the only Oregon plated smart around...

 

[Obiron]

I purchased my City Flame last August. At last count there were 6 other Smart owners in Eagle Mountain Utah where I live. I see others on the freeway and around the city. I've found 0 on Smart USA Insider site or here. I would like to get together with others, but it's a little odd to follow someone with a smart car just to talk to them so I don't. I think Lindon dealership is losing a golden opportunity to unite all Utah owners.

Would like to see an annual cruise night or something.