Urban Jungle

Hard to believe that in one of the most densely built up urban areas in United States - San Francisco - there are still pockets of wild, overgrown greenery. Discovered this little expanse of offroad track leading through a corner of jungle within the the old Presido Army Base on Saturday, right near the Golden Gate Bridge Toll booth entrance. A little surreal being in another world, mere yards from a major expressway.

Prime Parking Space

Drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to the decommissioned FOrt Baker at the northern end of the bridge. Now a recreational area, it offers great views across the bay.

Running on Empty (Again!)

I haven't been driving the Smart for a while and forgot about fueling it up — Driving to work this morning I happened to look down and there it was: "0.0" on thye gas gauge. Luckily I was close to a gas station and filled it up — 8.55 gallons. Since the tank capacity has a purported capacity of 8.7 gallons that's cutting it pretty close. Although not as close as the time last year when I run out of gas exiting the freeway — oh well, a bit of a walk always does one good.

Driver Change

Today I handed over the keys — TEMPORARILY — to a friend of mine,who will be driving my Smart for the next few months. He's is waiting for his new all-electric Nissan Leaf to be delivered, and there's been a three month delay in shipments. Gary had borrowed the car before, a few years back, for a weekend jaunt with his wife and loved the back-to-basic, direct-connect feel of the Smart, so was eager to take the reins again. Not problem fitting his full 6-foot-four-inch frame inside the roomy Smart car either.

Off into the Sunset

Performed a thorough washing and vacuum on the Smart car today in preparation of handing it off to a friend of mine for a while. Looks pretty sharp again. I haven't been driving it much lately so when a friend offered to rent it for three months I thought that would be a good option for both of us. But that means I won't be seeing the car in quite a while — a somber moment of reflection.

Screwed Tire

I've had a slow leak in the rear left tire for months — a small screw in the thread too close to the sidewall to be repaired. Tire wear has been minimal — even after 25000 the tires have plenty of life left — so I was reluctant to buy a whole new tire. I haven't been driving the Smart car much these last few months so I got by refilling the tire every few weeks. But finally decided to make the splurge at the local Big-O — they didn't have any tires that small on hand so they had to have it ordered — the original equipment 175/55 R 15 Continentals. Snapped a picture of the old tire to make sure I ordered the correct one. The new tire is riding fine — nice to have the piece-of-mind when driving the tiny car with up-to-spec equipment.

Et Tu Brabus?

Spotted this Brabus model in Emeryville today. Not sure if it really is all that good value though — In Europe the Brabus edition packs a bit more horsepower but the US version is little more than a sport suspension, custom wheels and some fancy bits of trim. Those are very smart looking wheels though.

Butch Smart

Spotted this diminutive Toyota IQ in Paris today. It has the similar stubby proportions of the Smart but carries if off with a beefier, more powerful presence somehow. It has a more horizontal "snout" and squarer "eyes' but I suspect most of it's strong stance is conveyed by the bigger wheels and tires. A rather handsome design. I've seen these cars around in the last year (none in the US though) but still don't care for that strange "S' shaped curve of the rear-quarter side glass. Still an amazing design considering it's a 4-seater — in a length only a mere 11 inches longer than a Smart for Two.

Below the Bridge

The cool thing about Fort Point, the Civil-War era military fortress at the southern base of the San Francisco bridge, is that you can park right up next to the roaring waves on the breakwater leading up to it. A wonderful, dramatic place to enjoy views of the surf and bridge. Every once in a while a really giant wave comes in and breaks over all the parked cars, so it's best not to loiter with the top down for too long!

Spring in San Francisco

The Bay Area (how the locals refer to the Northern California San Francisco region) has the perfect weather for top down driving, although temperatures can vary drastically between the shore and a few miles inland. The Smart's top has the perfect ability to adapt to conditions on-the-go, at any speed. Opening up the roof a tiny slice at a time offers infinite variability to suit every temperature - hard to imagine why anyone would choose the hardtop over the added benefits of open air driving.

Safety Cage

I noticed a cutaway view of a Smart car at the local dealership when I was in there for my 24,000 mile service. It's meant to reassure future customers by showing the underlying structure of the unibody construction, but I couldn't help getting the opposite impression. It looks quite insubstantial, although I suspect all cars when stripped away look a little open. The door beams in particular - the cross members that are supposed to protect in side impacts look pretty puny. Makes me want to drive even more carefully.