Here is a potential competitor, if you consider really small cars (8 feet long!) in the same category as the Fit:

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...8/TOC01ARCHIVE

I wanted a Smart for so long, gave up, got the Fit (& love it) so maybe I'm over the Smart at last.

 

Smart couldn't compete with the versatility of the Fit. Only two seats? no comparison to four seats, five doors, and tons more room.

I wish Smart hadn't sold the design for their little two seat roadster to MG. I'd have LOVED one of those!

 

I wonder what the price will be on it?

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/other-car-related-discussions/6483-get-smart.html
^This thread has another link, too. :)

 

Smart cars are just motorcycles w/ a box around it. If the insight and CRX didn't sell well, neither would the smart car. I like high mileage cars, but mileage is not the priority of the average driver. No one gets a transportation mobile for mileage; if mileage is that important, everyone would just bike.

 

Smart has more than two seaters. In fact, some of them look kinda *yikes* large.

Try this link:

http://www.smart.com/-snm-0155109868...modelle%2epage

 

My girlfriend and I have been saying for awhile that we would love to get a smart car, realisticly though it would only be logical in the city. For buzzing around the burbs I'll stick with my plan to get a Vespa! (at least when i'm not in my Fit that is).

If/when we move to the city or out of the country, the smart car may become an option again. Either way I think they are neat.

 

How's it competition? it doesn't have nearly the same utility as the Fit, and the Fit seats 5 and still has good cargo room.

 

that thingy doesn't look right...you hit a rock and i'm sure it can fly on two wheels and that's how you will save on gas...lol, how would you have a catback system for this? it's so short...

 

I would rather have a Volkswagon GX3. Except for the roof, that's probably closer to the Smart in passenger and usable cargo space.

 

These don't sell bad up here. I thought they would cost more, but they start at around $16k CAD with AC. A fit LX with AC is $17k

 

I'd really like to see if VW will produce the EcoRacer and import it after we get good diesel fuel standards. THAT car would be focking SWEET!!

 

Wow so many preconcieved notions about the smart. Then again, there was a lot of negativity up here as well about its safety and handling. I actually sold my smart car for the Honda Fit because of the room. Other than that, it was a great car to drive. It can go 140km/h on the highway no problem. It was a lil shaky on the highway around semi's and cross wind, but other than that, she ran fine.

The smart is totally in a class of its own, it doesn't compare to the Fit nor does it stack up against the Hybrids like the Insight. It really a different car, and it takes an open mind to accept it. It is actually quite a safe car to drive. Handling obviously isn't great, but thats not the real reason for getting one. They are great cars for the city and the odd highway trip. Suprisingly, it is quite roomy inside. There is a small area in the back that can carry about 15 cases of beer (yes I tried :D). The smarts here in Canada are all diesel and get approximately 4.2L/100km. Lots of mods are also available for the smart including lots of Brabus parts. I actually did my smart up a bit and got a remap done on the ECU. Got another 5bhp and 10-15ft/lb of torque with the remap. Seems like a small amount, but for such a light car, it's a lot. It's funny when I used to pass people on the highway with my smart...they just give me that WTF look.

Here is my smart car that I sold early in April so I could get my Fit. Lots of mods, not gonna list them:

 

The CRX sold really well... so well that they had to quit making them. It was cutting into the prelude sales. So then came the Del Sol being a different type of car... sale of that thing didn't do as well as the older CRX. It had a horrible chassis... my gawd. The back window would pop out of its tracks during an autocross.

The Smart could be... maybe compared to the Insight. But it's no CRX that's for sure. I couldn't imagine taking a Smart to Gingerman or Buttonwillow.

But the Smart Roadster coupe? I rather have that instead!

 

I got to check out some of the roadster coupes in HK last year, man they are great looking cars! It's too bad they didn't bring it over to Canada last year or I woulda gotten that instead. Now that they've discontinued them, there is no more hope of getting a roadster without importing one :(

 

I didn't see the movie, The DaVinci Code, but the Smart Car appears in the book -- from the description a very small vehicle. They made a mad dash across town in it and apparently it was a wild ride. Does anyone know if it appeared in the movie?

 

I haven't seen the movie either, but I'm pretty sure I spotted it in one of the previews. It's also in the new Pink Pather movie with Steve Martin.

If they had just brought these to the US when a 2-door was still practical for me, I definitely would have gotten one. Mainly just because they are soooo different from anything else out there. The UK smart website (here) is a good one for looking at the options they've got.

 

The Smart would be cool to drive in the city only. The ride would be extremely rough. But for just going to work and back, it would probably be ok. No cross country drives.

 

In "The Da Vinci Code" the French actress from "Amelie" drives a smart backwards for awhile in traffic-- so cool. I drove a rental smart cabrio in '03 for a few days in Holland & loved it-- even on the autobahn with its sequential 6-speed & the A/C going, it felt peppy.

 

Here are a couple of Smart Car articles:

Why Honda Fit is a better fit than the Smart Car:

http://www.businessandmedia.org/arti...629151343.aspx


Another Smart Car article (with comparison to Fit & Yaris):

http://www.boston.com/cars/news/arti...for_us_market/