My Favorite Ride: Tiny Smart car has room for 2 people, 3 grocery sacks and a case of beer
It was during a family visit to Rome in 2006 that John Bickley and his wife fell for what he described as "the cute little Smart cars we saw everywhere, parked in the smallest of spaces at all different angles."
Mercedes-Benz, with input from the Swatch watch company, developed the micro-compact Smart car in the early 1990s at a California design studio. A team of engineers and designers led by Gerhard Steinle created the prototype.
By 2015, 1.7 million of the vehicles were on the road in nearly 50 countries.
The Bickleys owned one of them. In 2008, they learned that manufacturer Mercedes-Benz was taking orders for the first Smart cars that would be imported to the United States.
John Bickley put down the required $99 deposit and waited for their new 5-foot-wide and almost 9-foot-long vehicle to arrive.
"The dealer said ours was one of the first 100 cars imported to the Pacific Northwest," Bickley said. "My wife said she wanted it for herself, but I must admit I’m the daily driver."
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He researched the car before the purchase and learned from a Museum of Modern Art publication that the Smart Car marketing slogan was: "Reduced to the Max.” The vehicles maximized convenience, comfort and safety while minimizing impact on the environment.
The Smart ForTwo has a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine. It pouts out 71 horsepower and runs on 93-octane gasoline. It gets 33 miles a gallon in the city and 41 on the highway. The car's maximum speed is 90 mph.
It's reported to go from 0 to 60 mph in 14.1 seconds. A 2008 Chevrolet Corvette takes just 4.3 seconds to get there, but no one driving an 1,800-pound Smart car is interested in speed.
Its value lies in its smallness. Bickley was behind the wheel of the wee car on his commute into Seattle for work, driving to sporting events and, well, everywhere.
"I drove it to Mariners games and Sounders games because we could always find a tiny spot to park it, usually for free," he said. "It was also the perfect little car to run errands and for grocery shopping. Plenty of room in the back for three grocery bags and a case of beer."
They call their Smart car “Beast Mode,” the nickname of former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who in 2010 completed what Bickley described as "an astounding 67-yard touchdown run."
His daughter gave him a sticker commemorating the historic football event, he put it on the car and the name stuck.
Mercedes advertising from 2008 says the two-seater Smart car "was designed to act small, but feel big."
Really?
It continues. "By widening the base, we added stability and space, so when you sit in a Smart, it has the feel of a sedan. It also features a twin-section tailgate, which facilitates loading and unloading, and provides maximum storage."
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There was more about this "nimble" automobile and its 23-foot turn radius. "Smart makes driving, parking and turning easier than ever. Smart was designed specifically for urban traffic conditions, which make its unique handling abililty both fun and practical."
The ads claim the cars are highway safe amid bigger and heavier vehicles. "The patented Tridion Saftey Cell uses reinforced high-strength steel to act as a barrier between you and anything else on the road."
I should probaby take back all of the mean things I've said about Smart cars over the years. I may have told Bickley I thought they were, gulp, stupid. Unattractive, slow and unsafe.
But now I know about the patented high-strength steel and the 90-mph top speed and the roomy sedan-like interior. It's the Mercedes-Benz of tiny cars.
Bickley is considering selling Beast Mode, and not because of my disparaging remarks. After 15 years, he's bought a car he loves more, a real sedan: a sleek BMW that by my calculation weighs about 2,500 pounds more than the Smart car.
Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: What this couple loves about their Smart car, the Mercedes-Benz of tiny cars
