# Smart Car in US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240 "2000-07-28T17:19:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![njk8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@njk8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njk8)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/1 "2000-07-28T17:19:04Z")
i am a big fan of the Smart Car. It is owned/made by DaimlerChrysler you can check it out at [http://www.smart.com](http://www.smart.com) (i could not find any info about this on the website, but it is possible i missed it.) i have seen it all over Europe, but i live in the US. Does anyone know whether it is possible to get one here? (either purchase here, or how much it costs to ship one) if so, would it be legal to drive? i really doubt i would get a car, but i am just sort of curious. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/2 "2000-07-28T20:22:45Z")
More than likely, it would be prohibitavely (sp?) expensive to get it to pass the crash and emissions tests. There are some fun stories about trying to get a Porsche 959 street legal in the US and it would require performing a crash test on one, which no one is willing to do with the $1 Million car. -dave- ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/3 "2000-07-29T00:22:21Z")
Does anyone actually drive those million-dollar Porshes? I’ve always figured that the owners built climate-controlled garages to display their trophies in. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/4 "2000-07-29T01:30:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Does anyone actually drive those million-dollar Porshes? When they first came out, I read a story in _Motor Trend_ about a guy in Germany who not only bought one, but wrecked it soon after while showing off on the autobahn. Posrche towed the car back to the factory and repaired it at no charge! But, you’re right, most rich guys put such cars on display. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/5 "2000-07-29T02:06:04Z")
Last week there were two Smarts on display at The Block at Orange. One was bule and black (soft top ?) and the other was blue and silver (hard top). I saw them as the dealer was setting up the display. They weren’t there the next day. I liked them. I thought they were utterly hip. My co-worker (who’s 8 years older than I) thought they were dangerous-looking and ugly. I like the concept. If I was looking for a new, economical car, I’d check them out. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/6 "2000-07-29T04:07:24Z")
Sally Jessy Raphael bought one and tried to bring it over. She had quite a hard time of it–I can’t remember the details, exactly. Sorry. The story was reported in both the New York Times and the National Enquirer. Here is the cite for the NYT article: Title: ‘I Fell for an Undocumented Alien.’ Subject(s): MERCEDES-Benz Smart (Automobile); RAPHAEL, Sally Jessy; AUTOMOBILES, Foreign – United States; COMPACT cars Source: New York Times, 04/09/2000, Vol. 149 Issue 51353, Section 12 p1, 0p, 3c Author(s): Siano, Joseph Abstract: Focuses on a Mercedes-Benz Smart automobile owned by talk-show host Sally Jessy Raphael. Problems she had getting it through customs from France to the United States; Description of the car, which is only eight feet long and four feet wide; The commotion it causes in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Lawmill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lawmill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawmill)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/7 "2000-07-29T16:22:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Does anyone actually drive those million-dollar Porshes? I’ve always figured that the owners built climate-controlled garages to display their trophies in. It’s not a Porsche, but Rowan Atkinson, the British actor/comedian, crashed his $1,000,000plus McLaren F1. [http://www.itn.co.uk/Entertainment/ents19991026/102603.htm](http://www.itn.co.uk/Entertainment/ents19991026/102603.htm) If there’re enough people willing to pay extra for a “gray-market” car, someone may go to the trouble of crash-testing and doing the other things necessary for street legality. [www.motorex.com](http://www.motorex.com), for instance, imports the Nissan Skyline into the United States, although at quite a premium. ---
**Author:** ![Lawmill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lawmill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawmill)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/8 "2000-07-29T16:24:16Z")
Sorry, the url for Motorex was changed to [www.skylinegtr.com](http://www.skylinegtr.com). ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-car-in-us/27240/9 "2000-07-29T18:53:34Z")
- - - The “Smart Car” doesn’t appear to have much crash protection - airbags, antilock brakes and manufacturer bullshit aside. -Micro-class cars have been available in Japan for years; they look like pretty much the same thing. As far as I know they haven’t ever been approved for US importation, because they fail US crash tests miserably, too. - MC