One smart car
Monday, February 5, 2007 10:21 AM PST
Jennifer Colton
Argus Observer
Ontario
As an art teacher, Ontario’s Tammy Kinney said she chooses her vehicles based on overall appearance, a habit that led her to purchase a Hummer.
“It’s just not practical,” she said of the Hummer. “You couldn’t go anywhere in it and gas was incredible.”
So Kinney embarked on a search for a practical yet aesthetically-pleasing ride.
“I was looking for a vintage Mini Cooper,” she said. “And my friend said, ‘well have you seen those European cars that are coming to the U.S. in 2009?’ We looked it up on the Web site, and I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.”
Kinney then began a dedicated pursuit to own one of the European “smart” cars — still in a “gray market” being phased into this country before the official release — and found a dealership in Colorado with a used, blue-and-silver Smart For Two.
The car was delivered around Christmas.
“I am the only person in Oregon that has one,” Kinney said. “The DMV didn’t quite know what to do with it.”
Owning the innovative vehicle has its advantages, Kinney said, like earning 70 miles per gallon and being able to park virtually anywhere — including parking “nose-in” against a curb instead of parallel parking.
But the smart car also has its disadvantages
“If I know I’m going to run an errand that takes five minutes, I leave 35 minutes before,” she said. “Every time I get to my car there will be a group of people, or at least one person, waiting so they can ask me questions. The No. 1 question is always ‘what is that and who makes it?’”
The ‘sm’ in smart stands for Swatch, the designer, Mercedes, the manufacturer, and “art” for the designers’ sentiment that the car was a work of art. Officials at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City agree — the smart car became the sixth vehicle to be placed on permanent display.
“It’s a very safe car, a lot of people assume it’s not,” Kinney said. “It has a metal (Tridion) shell that you’re housed in. They’ve done crash tests on it and it does very well.”
Although Kinney bought the vehicle used, it still cost $25,000 after shipping, she said.
“When I don’t drive it, I can’t wait to get home,” she said. “I love driving it, it just whips around, and I just love the fact that I’m saving so much gas money.”
Although she could make a profit, Kinney said she has no plans of selling the car in the near future.
“I can see my daughter, who’s 6, driving it,” Kinney said. “She’s already asked me, ‘when I’m 16, can I have this car?’ And, yeah, I think I’m going to keep it.” More information about smart cars can be found at http://asmartcar.com.
