Smart: the roadster
Comments: 24
Coming home from the pool the other night I noticed the new Smart roadster in a dealership window. I must admit, I’ve never been able to help but like these cars, even though the originals are a bit dinky. There’s an obvious verve to how the designs have been carried out. The four-door and the roadster both seem to be stylish and witty takes on the idea.
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Posted to General Rants • 2004.11.23 (Tue) • 22:50
Comments
Posted by splinter 2004.11.23, 23:19
I too have loved these, my daughter wants the roadstar as her first car, thankfully she has 5 years to save up :)
Posted by craig ingram 2004.11.23, 23:40
That’s pretty cool looking. Looks like a Lotus Elise..only smaller and with less umph.
Wonder if these cars will make it stateside… Considering everyone’s obsession with “OMG HUGE SUV PLZ!” I’m thinking they won’t, but then again the Mini Cooper’s have been on 6 month backorder since they came out.
Posted by David 2004.11.24, 01:32
I’m getting one. They’te the funniest cars on earth. And quite cheap too.
Posted by elvis2k 2004.11.24, 03:41
These are supposed to come to the US market in a couple years. I think Canada started selling the smart line this fall.
Posted by Mark DeLoura 2004.11.24, 11:22
The company Zap! (www.zapworld.com) is bringing the Smart to the US, though I’m not sure they’re bringing the roadster over. We’ll see. :-) The cars are at the San Francisco Auto Show this week, there’s a picture on this site: http://lostworld.pair.com/blog/archives/000448.html
With 60mpg for the fortwo, they’re awfully tempting, though the idea of facing down those SUVs on the freeway is a little scary!!
Posted by Steve 2004.11.24, 11:31
I had the pleasure of a smart roadster for 10 days earlier this year. Fun little things, spritely, handle brilliantly and attract a lot of looks. Although the latter isn’t great when stuck in your car on a crowded street and you need your passenger to extracate you. Hence, if you’re 6’4” or taller, don’t bother….
Posted by Erik 2004.11.24, 16:44
I believe Michael Mauer designed those cars; he was with SAAB for a time, but now Porsche employs him as their design chief.
Posted by carolyn 2004.11.26, 03:10
I’ve got one, bougloved its looks first (shallow, or what!) , amazed at its performance , have owned it for two months and I guarantee it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Nippy, economical, a looker, the only downside is the dealership network - in the UK they are serviced by Mercedes and they are the worst, worst, worst for service, my every dealing with them leaves me so stressed and cross I can hardly speak.
Posted by Simon Jones 2004.11.30, 13:18
I walked past a Mercedes dealer a few months back and saw one of these. I walked right in and expressed interest and they gave me one for an entire weekend. I don’t think I slept! It was quite simply the most exciting and fun car I have ever driven. In the end the £18,000 price tag for the fully featured model i wanted was just too much. I plumped for a second hand MGF in the end. See the pictures of the MGF A little thing i wrote about that car
Posted by Gavin Haslett 2004.12.07, 01:49
You know, I simply adore these cars. The styling is incredible, and the price is definitely right… then add in the efficiency… WOW. This is something I WANT! Problem? Well, I’m in the US so I’ll have to wait a few years. To hell with the SUV craze over here, I can’t stand the things anyway. I drive a 1996 Subaru SVX and love that to death… I wonder if I can keep it running long enough to get me one of these roadsters…
Posted by Kraig 2004.12.23, 09:30
When ever I thought of Smart cars I always just laughed. My sister boyfriend told me I should go and have a look at a roadster. Well I was passing the Merc garage one day, so thought I would pop in. As soon as I sat in it I fell in love!!! I’m now trying desperately to sell my current car so I can get one. For anyone who makes jokes about this little car………Go and see one in the flesh, you’ll be amazed.
Posted by Jussi 2005.04.21, 05:20
I just came back home from mercedes dealer. I bought smart roadster today :) Happy happy joy joy!
Posted by Steve 2005.04.25, 19:51
Hurry up and buy one. I have just bought mine and I was told they will not be making anymore once the current stock has been sold. How lucky I am and it could end up a collectors car somewhere down the line.
Posted by Guy 2005.05.07, 21:59
Just bought one, fantastic cars! Sadly they are halting production in september! so get one while you can! Massive discounts around too!
Posted by Debs 2005.08.19, 07:37
Its been saved from the axe and they are making a further 400 this year.
Posted by Mike 2005.09.13, 10:11
I saw them in Germany. Sadly, the vacation is over and I’m back home. Now I’m trying to figure out how to buy one here. Any ideas? I’ve written to Zap but no reply yet.
Posted by John-John 2005.10.08, 03:21
Too bad the US manufacturers sell options instead of cars, I would love to own one! Maybe $3 a gallon will wake someone up. ;)
Posted by Lance 2005.11.10, 06:33
Just bought the same one as on the picture. this car is a true blessing, too bad most people thought otherwise as production stopped because of poor sales. note that they have one major fault: they leak!
Posted by Cheryl Roberts 2005.11.26, 09:01
Really want to buy one. Confused on new or second hand not much difference between price where is the best place to get good deal
Posted by Kevin 2005.12.02, 11:19
The Smart Car will be in the US in the middle of December (2005) - about 2 weeks away. We’re bringing them in and having them converted (our converter just got permission from the DOT and the EPA). Unfortunately, the price will much higher than anywhere in the world - and higher than other companies that have tried to bring them in have quoted. It’s looking like a retail price of about $29,500 for the fortwo (add $2500 more for the cabrio). Our website will be up and running by the end of next week. www.asmartcar.com
Posted by ray 2006.06.14, 05:51
hi my wife has just purchased a 06 plate great fun to drive when she lets me, i ride a hayabusa for fun and although no where as fast it is as much fun would like to get it remapped at some stage in future. It has got sports and sound pack and boost gauges, had leather put in it ,it was the last all black in country so very lucky. Would recomend to any one for fun and econemy
Posted by Mash 2006.08.30, 19:46
I bought one of these about 7 months ago, same colours as the picture with sports and leather package. I’ve owned faster cars but I never had so much fun driving them. The semi auto gearbox is a bit of a drag at first but the experience soon settles in with the Roadster’s mariokart like character. Important to me are it’s comparably good emissions of 122g/km of CO2 and it’s 55 MPG - quite a bit better than the average car and amazing compared to a new petrol Range Rover (370+g/km and 18 MPG).
…now if only they still manufactured them :(
Posted by helen 2006.09.07, 12:53
I bought a 2nd hand one a year ago and I still can’t get over the fun I have in it. What a lot of people don’t know is that whilst the car is really eco friendly, the factory it comes from has been set up as the most eco friendly autoplant in the world, planting acres of rare trees, recycling heat and water, and making sure that none of the materials used in construction contained really nasty chemicals. Those people who think the car might be a bit pricey for what it is don’t realise that they are paying for the factory set up as well. Of course, I ONLY purchased mine on ecological grounds……style and good fun had absolutely nothing to do with it!
Posted by Liz 2007.01.02, 13:12
I bought my roadster just over a year ago after being hit by a car on my motorbike - unable to ride with leg in plaster (now riding again after 12 mths physio) but my roadster is now my daily transport (still too scared on bike in heavy traffic). I still can’t wipe the grin from my face! It’s fun, economical, sporty, and I love watching ppl go “wtf is that?” as I go by - meets all the requirements for my mid-life crisis! My Mercedes dealer does the services and I have never been better treated in my life - I got the 16” wheels put on as well as the temp and turbo gauges otherwise, it’s standard - mine’s black with the same silver trimmings as the photo - I am completely enamoured with my car.
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