Really Red

Here are a few of shots of the rather bright interior. I'm liking it a lot now but it was initially a little shocking - I'm used to sombre all-black interiors on my cars. The red is bright, and slightly on the orangey side, and works well with the other trim elements around the inside. Appears to be put together with a quality feel as well. You can see that I opted for the optional "pod" instruments atop the dash - they add to the general funkyness and that tachometer is very useful for gear changes. I have to say that the design of the actual instrument faces look rather cheap and uninspired - I would have preferred the more tried-and-true white on black background design. All-in-all though, it's very comfortable in there - air conditioning, a decent stereo, plenty of headroom - it's going to be a nice ride.

Alameda Naval Air Station

One of my favorite places in the East Bay is Alameda, and the Naval Air Station is especially remarkable. The World War II military base has been decommissioned for over a decade and has a wonderful vacant, air of decay about it. There are a series of massive old hangers that appear to be empty, although some have mysterious company names on them. All with stunning views across the bay to the skyline of San Francisco. It's a great place to take photographs. 

The old aircraft carrier pictured above is the USS Hornet, now a museum.

What a Car!

Well I've been driving the Smart Car for a whole day now, and the verdict is in - it's great! I've really got the hang of the sequential shift mode, which completely transforms the car. The transmission's default full-auto mode is sluggish in the extreme - especially that initial first-to-second shift. It's looking like the transmission is the achilles' heal of the Smart – each shift feels like it takes several seconds, and you feel yourself lurch forward as the car slows to change cogs. But the free-revving engine more than makes up for it, happily winding up to its redline in every gear. I find myself compensating for the amused looks the car gets from other drivers by gunning it pretty aggressively - I'm probably not going to get the best mileage!

D-Day!

Well, I went for it. Took delivery of my very own Smart Car in San Francisco today. It took me awhile to figure out that the Smart Center was part of the Mercedes Benz dealership - all contained on the second floor. I thought Mercedes Benz was trying to ditance themselves from the Smart brand and all that. Maybe their independent dealer network hasn't been setup quite yet.

The dealership showroom was bright, modern, and clean - seems consistent with the Smart ideology. They had several cars parked in amongst the furniture. I spotted my car and made a beeline to check it out. Initial impressions were a little mixed. As I had expected, the new second generation design didn't look as pure and resolved as the earlier model. The red cloth interior I had ordered a year earlier looked much brighter and girlier than I expected. And the car seemed surprisingly big - its tallness loomed large over the desks and other furniture in the upstairs showroom. The Smart's build quality however, looked much better than I had expected - there was a solidness in it's construction and a crispness in the design of the details that indicated this really was a quality product.

The Salesman and I set out for a short test drive - once on the street the Smart takes on it's usual diminutive appearance. We zoomed up a couple of very steep streets where the hill-hold feature was demonstrated. We buzzed around for a few blocks while I struggled with the sequential transmission. I didn't really get the hang of it to be honest - I've always driven manual shifters. 

From the inside the car is quite spacious. You forget that the vehicle ends a couple of feet behind you. It's not until you get out, turn around to close the door when you realize, with utter disbelief, the extreme shortness of the car . It's more than three feet shorter than a Mini Cooper! It's hard to imagine how the earlier model measured 8 inches less than this - it would seem to be phyically impossible to create a vehicle any smaller.

There were several other customers excitedly checking out the cars - glee that turned to  sulkiness when they found out that the first year is pretty much sold out. I was reassured that this was something special. It's time to get on the Smart bandwagon .

It's Alive!

Received an email today from the Smart Team San Francisco. The Smart Car is here! I guess this internet thing really works - my order from a year ago turned into a real, built-to-order car. Part of me was hoping that the Smart Car request had gotten lost somewhere - I don't really need another car. Not right now. Certainly not a third two-seat convertible - what was I thinking?

I called and sure enough, the car really did exist, exactly to my specifications. I should at least check it out. I've made an appointment for a Saturday a week from now to look it over and see if I still want to take delivery. The more I think about it the more it starts to sound like an interesting proposition. I still haven't seen this new second generation car in the flesh and I'm more than a little curious.

Smart Car Configured

Got online and finalized the options for my Smart Car today. An unusual way to buy a car to be sure, but I kind of like the all-internet approach - You don't have to deal with those pesky car salesmen. I chose the all black color scheme - it's the only color where you can get the body panels and the "tridion safety cell" to match. I'm not a big fan of the contrasting stripe typical of most Smart Cars - Having it all one color really unifies the shape and holds the entire design together.

I selected the Cabrio model. Even though it's the most expensive Smart Car iteration, it sounded like the most fun, and the most appropriate for such an unusual vehicle. I'm a big fan of convertibles anyway - I've owned 4 canvas tops before - and we have the ideal climate for them here in Northen California. I checked the boxes for over a thousand dollars worth of options - fog lights, heated seats, alarm system, and those funky periscope instruments seemed like a must. And I had also read somewhere that the electric power steering was well worth ordering so I added that to the mix. Why not - I'm going to live with the thing for a few years, it might as well be the ideal configuration.

The grand total added up quickly. Not sure if this is a completely logical vehicle for the money - but I guess I can always back out and get my deposit back.

Signed Up

Today I registered online for the American Version of the Smart Car. Sight unseen, other than some online photos. I have to say it doesn't look quite as clean and pure a design as the first generation Smart - I guess they thought it needed to look more American, more aggressive, with angrier headlights. But early reports claim it's a much better car than the original – stronger, safer, better driving, and a good eight inches longer. I've been curious about these cars for years and it's only $99, fully-refundable (I think!) We'll have to see what I think in a year or so, when the car is ready for delivery.

Camouflaged

A very leafy Smart Car. An interesting decal treatment on this Smart car made it blend in with the hotel. A company car of the Hotel Manos Premier in Brussels. Not sue what a Five-star hotel needs with a company Smart Car – not for picking up guests at the airport I would imagine!

Brabus in Brussels

Took a couple pictures of a Smart Brabus while touring Brussels. Looks great in its all black guise. Note the wider wheel flares needed to accommodate the more aggressive rubber. In addition to a few other little cosmetic touches, the Brabus model sports increased on-board power, making this Smart especially smart.

Definitely not Smart!

Came across these strange vehicles when walking around Amsterdam. For those who think the Smart Car looks odd, this thing looks down-right bizarre. The awkward angular design appears so steeply upright, so impossibly narrow, and so completely malporportioned that it makes the Smart seem fluidly Ferrari-esque in comparison!

This thing is called a Canta LX. It  appears to be barely big enough for one person, but actually has two seats, side-by-side - you would have to be skinny. The main benefit appears to be that you are allowed to park on the sidewalks with these cars, along with the millions of bicycles.

My First Smart

You knew the Smart car was tiny but this is ridiculous! The only way to get a legal Smart car in America right now is to buy a die-cast metal toy. Smart will begin selling in Canada and Mexico in a few months but the massive US market will be excluded. There must be some misguided marketing reason for doing this - they think all American require gigantic cars. I guess they also want to wait until they get a full infrastructure of dealers etc. in place. There's talk of a Smart SUV model coming to America which sounds like a big mistake - Don't we have enough SUVs?