smart to be smartSaturday the seventh was a special day, a day that will not come around again until the next century, yes I'm talking about 7/7/07. The sun went down on 7/7/07 with an unprecedented number of couples tieing the knot in the hopes that they will get some extra help from good old lucky number seven. At least a couple things are for sure, first it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy some stock in Johnson and Johnson as I'm sure a baby boom might be in the wings. Secondly divorce lawyers will be over joyed as they book their cruises and plan their new pool projects as a year from now they may be getting some extra business. The lucky number seven was also used for a world wide concert spearheaded by former Vice President Al Gore. The Live Earth concert took place on each continent including Antarctica ,where a group of scientists performed for some eager penguins. Live Earth was conceived to put a voice and a face to global warming ,a resurrected debate that rose from the dust of our memory by Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. The hope is that the message will finally "take" with the gen y-er's, a message that seemingly was lost on gen x-er's who collectively rolled their eyes to the seemingly un-cool images of green living. Smart, a new car for us, but old hat to Europeans, is using this opportunity to give the us a chance to "sniff out" the smart(smart uses a lower case "s" to seem less pretentious) by co-sponsoring the US Live Earth concert. If our last review of the Fiat 500 sparked your interest but you don't want to wait until 2010, then the Smart might be your remedy to "micro car desire" or mcd, without any nasty side effects. Smart started as an amalgamation of design and engineering from both Mercedes and Swatch watch. The original dealers in Europe where actually designed to look like rotating watch display cases! The Smart took off in Europe since it's 1998 debut selling over 700000 units to date. Daimler always lowered it's voice to a mumble when asked about bringing the Smart stateside. Daimler's resistance to the exportation of the Smart revolved around their insecurity that it would be taken seriously in our country where bigger is better. Zap automobiles took the reigns and were the first to have the guts to begin importing the Smart a little over a year ago. Zap put up some big "coin" to federalize the Smart ensuring that it met both crash standards and pollution standards. To the amazement of ,I'm sure, many U.S. regulators the Smart which employs a
safety cell construction technique called "Tridion", that distributes force around the passenger compartment just as it does in an Indy car. is in fact extremely strong. To protect occupants further the engine is placed in the rear to give more crumple space. The use of the a rear engine making this the first non-exotic rear engine vehicle since the VW Beetle. 
The Tridion cell takes on a prominent silver or black boomerang shape that ,if you squint slightly and have been drinking heavily, looks a little like the exposed safety cell of Audi's R8 supercar. But that actually works in well with the theme since the Smarts designers created a passenger compartment "big enough for two people and a case of beer". To the smarts credit it even survived a direct hit into a wall at 70mph, although as you will see in the above video even if a car can survive at those speeds the occupants may not regardless of the size or make of model. The Smart became the smallest car to be imported into the country since crash standards began to be used. Zaps efforts have met them little gain however as their hard work went towards the importation of the past generation smart that was anything but stable on the road ,especially the interstate. Even those in love with the smart would never have awarded it "drivers car of the year". But Mercedes tortoise like speed caught up with the "Zappy" hare as Zap got zapped by Daimler earlier this year when ,in their usual tortoise like ways, came around to the idea of taking some market share amidst rising gas prices wasn't such a bad idea. The decision was made to begin the importation of the new Smart Fortwo starting this fall. Zap will land on it's feet however as they are always looking for the newest earth friendly alternative.. Daimler enlisted the support of long time car magnate Roger Penske to utilise his United Auto Group dealer network to sell the cars. How times have changed when just a decade ago Sally Jesse Raphael had her illegally imported Smart seized by the government for not meeting US standards, and now it will be sold along side Dodge Calibers and Mercedes E 350's. The new smart that we will see is a vastly improved vehicle ,that although looks nearly identical to it's predecessor, benefits from an increases wheelbase length and a slightly increased rear track that improves interior room and makes the Smart feel like a real car for the frost time.
The increased size of 106' still allows it to park head first into parallel parking spots, an idea that just seems so naughty to city dwellers that it may just make it worth buying. The new model solves many of the dynamic ride and handling problems that became a deterrent in past smart models. The new smart is by no means a "barn burner" but it's 70HP can propel the smart to 90mph and can take on a winding road with aplomb as long as it's wearing grippy enough "shoes", the stock rubber squeals at the mere notion of a turn. 
The Smart has developed a loyal following that could catch on here if Daimler is patient and we are receptive. Smarts success in Europe ensures a ready made aftermarket that is so very key to capturing the all important youth market. 
Brabus, a master craft aftermarket company, has illustrated just how much you can get from a Smart as their smart Brabus Xclusive model shows with it's 98HP mill. In Europe where gas is $6.00 the smart has become a prime target for youth makeovers as the smart takes on ,an almost dare we say it "cool" look. For them the smart is not about living green or making a politically drenched auto statement, to the European youth it is about the wallet and getting as much fun as possible on the parameters of their paycheck. This could translate well to our shores just as long as the smart has the chance to get beyond the "green is good" monikur that could totally kill it's"floss" factor ("coolness quotient" when translated from hiphop) with the youth. The incredible small curb weight and small dimensions make the Smart a veritable 
"empty canvas" for creative minds on either coast. You will see in the video feature above a smart that has been fitted with a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle engine that infuses 160HP into a vehicle that weights not all that much more than the cycle, now that's putting a fast face on green transportation! The new smart is currently touring the country going city by city in the hopes of winning over followers before their dealer launch. Smart was at the Live Earth concert in New Jersey and will be at the Cosi restaurant on Farmington Ave. in Hartford Ct. on the 13-15th. Smart is betting that after a closer look and some time behind the wheel a new breed of followers will plunk down the $12k-$15.000 for a version of their own. So for those that have been 
bit by the "bitty bug" don't be a dummy, check out the smart, a car that screams different, earth friendly, and cool without costing you any more than a base Kia, while achieving 60MPG highway. So we welcome Smart and thank all those who fought so hard for us to be able to get a taste of this new automotive flavor, so dig in, all new flavors are a little daunting at first but after that first taste gets past your molars you'll be happy you took the risk! 
