Smart Cars

When I lived in Germany from 2000-2002, I saw these all over the place and thought they were awesome! I never rode in one, but someone let me sit in his to take a picture. I took pictures whenever I saw one that was particularly eye-catching, like one that was camouflage or one that had flames on the side.



Recently I started seeing them here, which prompted me to go to wikipedia and brush up on my knowledge of the "smart" car. Some cool things I learned are that the concept was started by the swiss watch manufacturer Swatch (yup those awesome watches from the 80's), and that smart is an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART. The reason I've began seeing them here is that the car was officially launched in the US in the first quarter of 2008. Most people see the car and wonder about safety, but the passengers are protected by a Tridion Safety Cell (that name alone makes me feel all secure and warm inside). There's no getting around the small "crumple zone" of the car, but the cage uses some of the same technology as Nascar to try to protect the occupants as much as possible. The flipside is that because the cage of the car is so strong, the occupants are subject to greater forces than in a conventional car.



I also learned that since I left Germany, the company has fallen on some hard times and even went three years without making a profit. You can get a new smart car for about $12,000, or an electric version for $35,000 - with a range of 120 miles on 6 hours of charging.