# Valet Auto Review: Smart ForTwo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980 "2009-03-02T07:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/21 "2009-03-04T13:44:14Z")
> [@](#): > > **Lynn Bodoni** said: > Unless it’s the “Buy American” thing, which I won’t argue with. A surprising number of Japanese and Korean cars are built in the United States. My Eclipse isn’t an econobox, but it is a Japanese car that was built in the United States with 73% American parts. It was built in a UAW factory in Normal, IL to be exact. To contrast that, my mother’s Buick was built in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/22 "2009-05-07T15:55:52Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Other than its unique looks, I don’t see what the Smart has to offer. You can park it with the front bumper hanging over the curb in what would be a parallel parking spot for any other vehicle. Otherwise, very little. It’s a horribly compromised vehicle, thanks to the [Elk Test](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_test) among other things. > [@kferr](#): > > The transmissions is (I believe) by Gertrag and is a 6 speed sequential semi-automatic. > > \ > > Is it marketed as M.B.? They don’t make a fuss about that here. I think part of the reason for all the plastic is that one of the design goals was to use a lot of recycled and/or recyclable material. > > Do I think they make sense for the US? Not really. There are other small cars from brands already established that would probably be cheaper, more practical, and nearly as economical. Some that spring to mind are the Ford Ka, VW Polo, and Toyota Aygo. Nitpick: _Getrag_. It’s not marketed as a Mercedes, but by Mercedes. Daimler AG (formerly DaimlerChrysler AG, and Daimler-Benz AG before that) is using Mercedes dealers to flog them in the US since it’s a niche model here. The Ford Ka, VW Polo and Toyota Aygo are all sadly unavailable here. The Smart is pretty much only being sold here because it’s cool- at the prices they’re charging, nobody would buy one on its merits alone. > [@catsix](#): > > The Eclipse isn’t a great big car, but it does have a 3.8L V6 under the hood, and I feel more comfortable merging onto the Parkway East Outbound at Squirrel Hill when I know that I’m going to go the instant my foot hits the gas. The Smart will go as soon as your foot hits the gas; it just won’t go very fast. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/23 "2009-05-07T16:12:44Z")
Heh, kferr’s already done the legwork, he was the first person I thought of. 🙂 It makes sense that Smart uses Mercedes dealers as distribution in the US. They must have learned from their European launch around 1998, when Smart Centers popped up on the outskirts of all major cities. Trendy, yes. Economically viable, no. Smart Cars was a loss proposition for many years before they started making money. I’m sure that was part of the reason to postpone the US introduction so long. They’re good cars. Large enough for two people in a European city environment, where the roads are of good quality, parking spaces are tiny, and most cars around you aren’t 5 times your size. In the US? I’d only consider it for the reasons already mentioned, so it would only really work in NYC or SF or so. Anything other than that, or any situation that required a modicum of highway driving, get something bigger. Surrounded by all those large-ass SUV’s, you’ll feel very vulnerable. And it’s not exactly cheap, as already pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/24 "2009-05-07T20:11:45Z")
These cars are perfect on an island in the Caribbean or in other places where large scale vehicles aren’t a typical thing. I’ve seen a few schumcks driving around Chicago in these little things, and if one of them cut me off in my pickup at speed, that would be it for them. That car would smash like a tin can. Sure, the For Two just got a ‘good’ and ‘acceptable’ rating for front and side impacts (though it’s too small to truly be rated) but that car is not a risk I’d take to save a few pennies at the pump. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/25 "2009-05-07T22:10:53Z")
For people mentioning San Francisco as a viable location, I would question that. There’s really _no_ parking downtown, regardless of how tiny your car is, and elsewhere the spots are metered such that pulling in head first would still require a full space. Maybe on non-metered residential streets you could squeeze in somewhere that a normal car couldn’t, but those aren’t exactly in abundance. Basically anywhere you can park a car will already have a car or motorcycle in it. Plus, I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those things trying to start from a standstill on several dozen or so hills I can think of off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/26 "2009-05-07T23:54:52Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > For people mentioning San Francisco as a viable location, I would question that. There’s really _no_ parking downtown, regardless of how tiny your car is, and elsewhere the spots are metered such **that pulling in head first** would still require a full space. It may also get you a parking ticket. There was a story on this in the SF Chronicle a few months back. The laws still require both wheels along one side of the car to be within (whatever it is - 12 inches I think) of the curb. People evidently can and do get tickets for parking their SmartCars head-on. The officer quoted for the story agreed that it was a bit silly but the laws haven’t caught up to a vehicle that small yet. He did say that you could comfortably parallel park two of them in one metered space and as long as the meter isn’t expired nobody will get a ticket. Consumer’s Union tested one and called it something like the worst car they’d ever driven. I like the idea but the execution seems lacking (never been in one though). I’d rather get one of those little electric cars (limited to 35mph) for big shopping trips, or just stick with my bike. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/27 "2009-05-08T00:10:42Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > It may also get you a parking ticket. There was a story on this in the SF Chronicle a few months back. The laws still require both wheels along one side of the car to be within (whatever it is - 12 inches I think) of the curb. People evidently can and do get tickets for parking their SmartCars head-on. The officer quoted for the story agreed that it was a bit silly but the laws haven’t caught up to a vehicle that small yet. He did say that you could comfortably parallel park two of them in one metered space and as long as the meter isn’t expired nobody will get a ticket. [Indeed](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/22/BA2CVNEHD.DTL). How…progressive. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980/28 "2009-05-08T03:18:49Z")
My store took a Smart in trade about a month ago. I drove it. What a piece of shit. I cannot believe that MB let it out the door with the software this pile has in the transmission control module. Step on the gas, car accelerates. When it is time for a shift, the car abruptly slows down then shifts, then accelerates again. Hope you aren’t prone to motion sickness. I tried manually shifting it and it did the exact same thing. We sent it to the nearest Smart store, and had all five outstanding recalls/service campaigns done, and we were told that the transmission was normal. Color me unimpressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valet-auto-review-smart-fortwo/487980.md?page=1)