From: skywhisperer	Date: January 6th, 2011 11:57 pm (UTC)		(Link)

They make a roof rack for it. You could just strap the teenagers on top!

	From: arthur_sc_king	Date: January 7th, 2011 01:10 am (UTC)		(Link)

The ones they sold in Canada for the first X years were diesel, IIRC. 3-cylinder 800cc turbodiesel, actually, I think. They switched to gas for the US market because "American drivers would be turned off by diesel" or some such bullshit.

I bet we could find you some used ones in nice shape at vancouver.craigslist.ca or some such.

	From: arthur_sc_king	Date: January 7th, 2011 01:41 am (UTC)		(Link)

Ahhh, here we go:

Smart Fortwo Passion CDI - $5500 (surrey)
Date: 2011-01-06, 1:05PM PST
Reply to: see below

I'm selling my 2005 smart for two diesel, in excellent shape in and out.

Has only 100 xxx km. Fully loaded; AC, Power window , power mirrors,Fully functional moon roof, CD player, Booklet

Comes with a unique alloy rims w/new tires also new battery from dealer.

Color is dark blue/silver with gray sport net/fabric interior

Moving back to Europa , has to sell by end of this month

Just serviced regularly, need nothing

Please contact me with any questions if needed. After 7.00Pm (604) xxx-xxxx or xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

	From: scarybaldguy	Date: January 7th, 2011 05:38 am (UTC)		(Link)

And if I had $5500 (plus the time and money to get it back to AZ and US-legal), yep.

	From: arthur_sc_king	Date: January 7th, 2011 05:22 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I know the $5500 thing sucks. But getting it into the US might not be so hard. For our Dodge Grand Caravan, all it took was a letter from Chrysler Canada confirming that yes, this thing was manufactured to meet US standards. (Took a while to convince Chrysler that that was the letter we wanted, but once they clued in, it was easy enough.)

I'm sure enough early US Smart fans went through the paperwork that there are forums out there on what needs doing.

When we were in BC this summer, a neighbour of the friends we were staying with had a Nissan S-Cargo for sale. Fuck, did I ever want that!! Problem is, it wasn't built to US specs, and the US importation laws only let you get around that if the vehicle is 25 years old or older. This was only 20 years old (they only made it from around 1989 to 1991). Damn. (I think Canada's equivalent law says 15 years, which is why he could legally drive it in Canada.) Cutest damn thing I ever did see. (Although it was a poopy mustard Grey-Poupon kind of colour, which I'd want to paint over.) And yes, the pun in the name is intentional. It even had right-hand drive ('cause it was only made for the Japanese market, even though the pun only works in English/French).

Yup. I love cute cars. Hell, even a new Beetle would be cool.

	From: arthur_sc_king	Date: January 7th, 2011 07:32 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Damn. Some Googling says that getting the Canadian diesel Smarts into the Yoo Ess is damn near impossible. Bummer. They all have 1 L 3-cyl. gasoline engines now, except for the new plug-ins (which should be available in 2012, Glub willing).

	From: skywhisperer	Date: January 7th, 2011 04:21 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I'm sort of mixed about the diesels. It can be hard to find diesel in town - Mike had a diesel truck for years, and I knew every station in 5 miles that had it. OTOH, the smart diesel is a better engine.

They do have a plug-in electric now. There's no room for a hybrid engine - the engine is packed in very tightly in as it is. If you added batteries, you'd have no cargo space left.

	From: ridicully	Date: January 7th, 2011 01:54 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Hi, sorry to just jump in.
When the smart was first introduced, they made a point of putting Helmut Kohl (yes, it was that long ago) in one.
That guy is 6'4'' and pretty massive but he got in and out just fine and seemed fairly comfortable.
Of course now I am completely incapable of finding any pictures of that event, but if they haven't changed the design overly much, at least tall people should be ok with it.

	From: arthur_sc_king	Date: January 7th, 2011 05:18 pm (UTC)		(Link)

My 6'4" son tried it out. (Although he's a skinny 175 lb.) He said it was comfortable enough for him. He ended up getting a Toyota sedan of some sort (Solara?), but his reasons for not getting a Smart did not include "couldn't fold myself into the damn thing".

	From: acelightning	Date: January 8th, 2011 10:38 am (UTC)		(Link)

well, i'm only 5'6", but i am definitely "queen-size". i'm trying to find out whether my fat ass will fit into the seat, but it's curiously hard to find that information on their website.

	From: skywhisperer	Date: January 7th, 2011 04:16 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I drive it with the seat almost to the front stops. It's really huge inside - there's really nothing in there except two seats, and each seat takes up almost half the width of the car (no cupholders or armrest-caddy-things between them, only a parking brake), making them much bigger then standard seats.

Very tall people might have problems with the roof - it's accommodating of long legs, but I'm not sure how much it would be accommodating of a very long body.

I've always owned tiny cars - I had a Geo Metro, and a Miata, and now a smart, and I've always thought the tiny cars went out more of their way to fit bigger drivers then more "standard" cars did.

	From: acelightning	Date: January 8th, 2011 10:40 am (UTC)		(Link)

well, i do like the concept, and i might even be able to afford one someday. but i can't help but wonder what it wants to be when it grows up ;-D

	From: skywhisperer	Date: January 8th, 2011 06:05 pm (UTC)		(Link)

*laugh* I can't imagine that you wouldn't fit. It really is very roomy.

And mine is the grown-up, honestly! This is the larval form:

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-P2896-Power-Wheels-Smart/dp/B003HC7ZEC

	From: acelightning	Date: January 9th, 2011 12:38 pm (UTC)		(Link)

when i was a kid, electric-powered toy cars were only for the children of millionaires. even a pedal-powered car was something most of the kids i grew up with knew better than to expect under their Xmas tree. *sigh*

but my twisted mind would like to see one of those Fisher-Price toys next to an all-electric real Smart ;-)

	From: skywhisperer	Date: January 18th, 2011 08:35 pm (UTC)		(Link)

This is a random aside: Someone in the neighborhood behind me had an electric-powered Fisher-Price Harley out on the lawn with a "Free!" sign. I drove by it twice, and the third time it overpowered me with it's cuteness, so I put it in the car and gave it to a friend at work with kids of the right age.

He had to replace the battery and drive wheels, but it runs great. Apparently, they run forever if you replace the battery every few years.

	From: acelightning	Date: January 19th, 2011 06:51 am (UTC)		(Link)

there's so much cool stuff for kids now that was beyond my wildest imaginings when i was a kid. (shitfire, when i was at emt420's funeral last Sunday, there was a little girl - one of his nieces, i think - who had on sequin-covered boots. if they came in my size, i'd wear 'em!) i couldn't even get my relatives to buy me an Erector set with the motor option, never mind an electric toy motorcycle...