I know there was a thread about these cars back in the day but I cant find it anyways

zapworld.com ebayed a smart car for like 35k (they usually start at 12k)

Diamerlerchrysler(sp?) is suppose to bring them here but I read something a while back that it is not going to happen because they are not doing well in Europe apparently which is kind of odd because I would expect small cars to be popular there.

So ZAP! is currently the only place that you can get these cars.
http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smart_moreInfo.asp

And the only dealership that currently has these cars is in new hampshire
http://www.mcfarlandford.com

 

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/salecars.asp 10k for a fiero...

 

The Smart gmBh division is having financial difficulties, which were not detailed all that much in the business news I read recently. ZAP is currently the only US-auth vendor to retrofit these vehicles for the US market to meet EPA and safety standards. You see Smarts everywhere in Europe. Someone imported one to Denver several years ago, but haven't seen it for a while. Don't if they retired it or what. Time will tell if ZAP will be able to keep the US market alive for SMART. I think they are a great idea for city driving, but I wouldn't be caught in one on a freeway anywhere here.

 

I wonder if sales have increased since the rising gas costs and how many units they have sold so far. No news updates on the website

 

Ladies and Gents I am sad to say NO SMART CAR it appears that zap has canned the idea because of pressure from the government you can see the letter they wrote to someone who put a down payment here http://www.funkysmart.co.uk/forums/s...560#post270560

Just when I think America is taking a step forward in the Automotive world they take a huge step back.

 

Dang that sucks. The main thing is, most of the goverment ppl, have big SUVs & Trucks that the gas is paid for by tax payers. So they could really care less about getting little econo cars here in America.

 

Damnit I was hoping to see them here, I even wrote a dealer in Toronto lol.

 

Autoblog.com had a sick post on a Smart ForTwo with a Suzuki motorcycle engine

 

The Smart cars in 2002 Germany were about like seeing a xB today (That's different!). All the locals I talked to were impressed by the mileage and the 2 seat concept but "only an idiot" would take one on the autobahn. There was even a dicier proposal with an semi-enclosed motocycle. It had a seat/shoulder belt and the roof was actually a roll cage. Kinda made more sense than most mopeds! For in-city use both were a great concept but I think the US road scene would have weekly body counts if they were driven here. So far the Echo, xA, and xB are about the smallest I'd feel comfortable in most US locations.

 

[img]ftp://cdn190er%40190revolution%2Enet:threefour1@190revolution.net/Eddy/00_00024.JPG[/img]

 

I would buy the smart roadster in a heartbeat if they brought it over here. It gets about 60mpg and has a sequential manual gearbox (pathetic 11 sec 0-60 time though). As far as cornering goes, I drove one while in Germany, and while it still doesn't touch the Elise, there isn't another convertible sold in America that can possibly match it. The styling for the front end is nice, while the rear borders on fugly.