It appears that early American buyers of the Smart ForTwo are trying to make the diminutive Two-Seater into a true cult car and today's event in San Francisco is the latest example of that. Anyone who has ever scene a movie or TV show set in San Francisco has probably caught a glimpse of Lombard street. A particular one block section of the street that goes down a very steep hill is famed for its tight sequence of hair-pin turns. A group of Smart owners gathered for a meetup and photo shoot on Lombard on Sunday and managed to pack 133 of the city cars into that one block section. One of the owners involved shared some of his own pics of the event with us. See them here. Thanks to David for the tip!

[Source: SmugMug]

Laboratory crash testing is a great tool to give automakers and the public an idea of how well a vehicle might protect passengers in an accident. However, there can be a huge difference in crash simulations involving dummies with sensors and real world crashes involving real world people. As you may have guessed from the headline and the smashed Smart fourtwo pictured above, we have some real world crash results to share with you.

While driving along on I-95 in Connecticut at 70 mph, a fourtwo driver who goes by the name of "evilbean42" on the Smart Car of America forum (SCOA), was on the receiving end of a bump from a car which had been bumped by a car which had veered from the exit lane into the next, somewhat occupied, lane. The momentum sent the Smart into the guard rail off of which it bounced "like a ping pong ball" and rolled three times back across the highway into the opposite guardrail whereupon it righted itself. The seat-belted evilbean42 opened the door and emerged unscathed, thanks to his Smart friend.

It seems the first thing to cross the accident victim's mind was, Oh my God! I need to get an orphan! (Orphan appears to be SCOA forum-speak for a Smart car shipped to North America whose would-be owner had a change of heart). We wish evilbean42 the best of luck in his orphan quest and thank him for demonstrating that the Smart is not only good on gas but also safe in a crash.

Changed "Four Two" to "fourtwo". Thanks "gotsmart".

[Source: SCOA] Thanks to Ryan for the tip!

Calling a very small car a "roller skate" has been an ongoing joke for many years. We've been hearing it since the days of the Nash Metropolitan, through the Geo Metro years, right on up through today, many times in reference to the smart fortwo. Judging from the photograph above, though, somebody has gone and taken the joke to a whole new level. Try as we might, we just can't find any additional information on the internet regarding these four-wheelers, but we can tell that these roller skates are meant for kids judging on the size. That's all well and good, considering that we don't know of too many grown adults who would want to spend very much time rolling around on these bad boys.

As a side note, this is not the first pair of footwear we've seen which was obviously inspired to an automobile. Click here for visual proof.

[Source: Carscoop]

One of the biggest questions to consider with tiny cars like the Smart ForTwo is what happens in a crash? The Smart is only eight and a half feet long. The first generation Smart has been tested numerous times over the years and always done reasonably well especially in comparison to other really small and even some considerably larger cars. When the feds tested it recently for the official test it did fairly well with scores of 4 and 3 stars for driver and passenger frontal protection. There was concern about the driver door opening during the test.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does its own testing on cars and trucks with different tests from the government standard. IIHS does a 40mph offset frontal test as well as a 31mph side impact test and a 20 mph rear impact test. The Smart scored the maximum good rating on both the front and side tests and an acceptable on the rear impact test. Considering the almost complete absence of crush zones on the Smart, it's always amazing to see how well the structure along with the belts and air bags protect the occupants. The full report is available here. The Video is after the jump.

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

The smart limited two, unveiled in Geneva.

One reason that micro-vehicles like the smart exist is so that they can cut down on congestion. There is only so much space available in big urban areas, and parking spots are often hard to come by. So, to pack more vehicles in the same amount of parking spots, you've got to have smaller vehicles. Unless, of course, laws prohibit these small cars from taking advantage of their enhanced parking possibilities. This seems to be a problem out in California; "If these things sell in any kind of reasonable numbers, we're going to have to deal with it," said Matt Nichol, a transportation planner in Berkeley. Selling in reasonable numbers they are, so hopefully smart cars will be given special parking privileges soon enough.

Smart is willing to help, says U.S. spokesman Ken Kettenbeil, "It's going to be a lot of work because each city has its own policies, but we've started." We think it just makes sense and really is in everybody's best interest to make sure smart cars can make use of their diminutive size and, well, park smartly.

[Source: SF Gate]

The smart limited two, unveiled in Geneva.

It's a good time to be selling Smarts in the U.S. The North American distributor, Roger Penske, told Automotive News (subs req'd) that he thinks that, on top of the 25,000 Smarts he's getting from Europe this year, he could "easily" sell 15,000 more. The trouble is that the Smart factory simply can't produce more than they currently are, so those 15,000 extra sales will either be delayed or lost to other brands. Penske said he's waiting to hear from Mercedes about possibly making more Smarts for the U.S.

Since the refundable deposit for ordering a Smart online is/was only $99, Smart USA said that as many as 25 percent of pre-orders are being canceled in some markets. Still, Smart USA's president told AN that the overall number of cancellations is "low," and the cars that were once destined for a particular buyer are not sitting on the lots because of high demand.

In the grand scheme of of the American car market, 25,000 Smarts - or even 40,000 - is not a lot. Still, if anyone was curious whether Americans could embrace a truly small vehicle or not, I think we have the answer.


[Source: Diana Kurylko and Richard Truett / Automotive News (subs req'd)]

I'm pretty sure that the majority of us would like to cruise in style. Whether that style gives off the image that we love high-performance, high utility or high economy, whatever we choose to ride or drive says something about us. A Camry tells other people that you value reliability and resale value, while a Corvette tells people that you like to be seen, and be seen going fast. What does a scooter say? That depends on who you ask, as some people, mostly men, wouldn't want to be seen dead on one. Or, others may think of the "Mod" craze from long ago. Whatever others think, you can rest assured that it is costing you less to get where you are going than them!

If you are interested in the history of how scooters and microcars got to where they are now, check out this new book. Did you think that the Smart car was the first of its kind? Not even close! That trail was blazed years ago by BMW, Fiat, Mini, Messerschmitt and many more. I have not yet read it, but I will. Maybe you should too!

[Source: Veloce Publishing]

I am not here to make any personal claims regarding the Chinese motorcycle, scooter or automobile manufactures ability to create a good product. I have very little personal experience with any motor-vehicle to come from mainland China. I have a little experience with their military sidecar bikes, but that is all.

With that said, do any of you remember our coverage of the electric vehicle being sold by a Chinese manufacturer that looked very similar to the Smart? If not, check it out here and here. As of that last posting in November of last year, the manufacturing of that vehicle had stopped. Or did it? Hmmm... check this out here. Phil at Pride of Cleveland scooter shop, whom I have met (cool guy), gives his own mini review upon seeing one:

"The biggest disaster of the show must have been notorious Chinese importer SunL, I don't care how many fake Lacoste dress shirts you hand out, I'm still going to call that Smart Car clone a complete travesty. The bodywork was so bad it actually felt like wood. The windows were just thin sheets of plastic glued in place. The Texans in the booth refused to open the door so I could see if there were any certification stickers inside. They assured me they would be legal for the '08 year. I sure hope nobody mentions this to Mercedes. This show should have taught even the casual observer, if you want to test the quality of a product, just tap it. The Chinese stuff has a feel all its own."

Click here for a site dedicated to SunL's products and their thoughts on the vehicle. This one may not be electric, though. It seems that this Smart-like vehicle has an 800cc engine. The name of the vehicle Sebastian covered was the "City Smart", and this one is the "Mini Cube". How will DaimlerChrysler react to this one?

Also of note: Don't miss the tagline on SunL's vehicle page. It says, "With A 150 different products to enrich your bottom line". Something sound funny about that? I would be glad to check the product out myself, if given the chance.

[Source: SunL via 2StrokeBuzz]

Hybrid Technologies has decided to buy a little positive press in the form of George Clooney. Mr. Clooney already has one electric car, can't he share? I'd like to drive through Italy in almost anything, how about a Vespa? Oh well, nevermind. The aforementioned trip is set to coincide with Hybrid Technologies' release of their lithium powered SMART car for the European market. The car was recently seen on Regis and Kelly, if you are interested in the video, click here. The car also has been covered on CNN, and if you would like to see that, click here. Lastly, if you just can't seem to get enough Clooney, click here.

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• Tango EVs being danced out the door by George Clooney's good looks

[Source: Hybrid Technologies via Ecorazzi]