After just over two months of sales in the U.S., the Smart ForTwo is moving out of dealerships at a good clip. So far sixty-seven of the planned one hundred Smart USA dealers are in operation and the company sold 1,734 cars in February. Since the first cars were delivered in mid-January, a total of 3,437 ForTwos have be turned over to US owners. While that is a pretty good pace, the real test will be what happens over the coming months. As decidedly mixed reviews come in from media sources, owner word of mouth may prove to be the deciding factor in the success of the car in this country. For such a small car mileage numbers in the mid-30s may prove to be insufficient for American buyers. On the other hand the compact footprint may prove to be a boon to urban drivers. Only time will tell.

[Source: SmartUSA]

Even though the Smart ForTwo is a great looking and popular car, there's just not a lot of places for crash impact energy to go in a vehicle this small. This is part of the reason that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when it announced crash test results for the ForTwo on Thursday, issued some lackluster ratings and a "safety concern" footnote to report a door coming unlatched during a side crash. Overall, the 2008 ForTwo scored four stars for the driver in a front impact, three for a passenger in the same situation, five and three for resisting rolling over. These results are neither great nor amazingly bad, writes Harry Stoffer in Automotive News, and it bears repeating that the front impact scores only compare similar-sized vehicles hitting each other. Not sure how the ForTwo would handle a Escalade at 100mph.


[Source: Harry Stoffer / Automotive News]

What do you get for the young woman who - presumably - has everything? Why not a smart fortwo convertible with her name emblazoned on the side? Ecorazzi has a photo of siad smart that belongs, we think, to Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) and says "Miley - girls night out" on the side. Of course, Miley is only 15 (she'll turn 16 in November) so for the next while we expect her to be sitting shotgun or driving around a pale-looking Billy Ray. Whoever took the photo (obviously from the seat of a passing car), we applaud the framing with the high gas prices in the background. Cruising around in a 40 mpg smart is, well, pretty smart.

[Source: Ecorazzi]

Back in January, ABG reader Randy dropped us a note to let us know that he and his wife had received a letter from a Smart dealer that the car they had reserved would soon be ready for delivery. Well the Oklahoma City couple picked up their new car this week and Randy sent us another message:

We just took delivery today. And we are very impressed. I live in Oklahoma City and the Smart dealer is located in Tulsa, which is about 100 miles. The drive back home was perfect. The car had no problem with keeping up with traffic, which on the turnpike speeds average 75-80mph. 80mph was not an issue to keep up. When we originally test drove the car during the tour, the cars seemed a little bouncy and jerky. Our cabrio is very solid and smooth. Top up on the highway, there is very little wind noise. Top down is stupendous. And the premium sound system ROCKS!!! All in all we couldn't be happier with our purchase. And for the days driving, after taking it on a tour to friends to show off, we averaged 44 mpg. WOOHOO! One other thing to point out, the attention the car gets is insane. I felt like I was in a parade on the highway. I have never had so many people waving and smiling and pointing. Some even snapped pictures.

Sounds like Randy is pretty pleased so far. If you've got your own story, the comments are open.

[Source: Randy in Oklahoma City]

All you folks out there who plunked down $99 for a diminutive Smart ForTwo over the past year, might just want to keep a close eye on your mailbox in the coming days and weeks. We just got word from reader Randy in Oklahoma City the he got a notice from Smart USA that his ForTwo will be delivered within the next 30 days. According to Randy, Oklahoma City is a prime example of urban sprawl and the Smart seems to be a perfect solution to his commuting needs. The car's small, maneuverable size and high mileage motivated the purchase. Randy and his wife ordered the car on the first day the reservation program opened up last year. They ordered the white Passion Cabrio model with the heated leather seats and other options. The $17,440 price tag isn't cheap but Randy and his wife did drive the car during the summer Road Show and decided it would be an ideal commuter. Randy has promised to update us on their experience with the car.

[Source: Randy in Oklahoma City]

The Truth About Cars used to say the Smart ForTwo excels at just one thing: unmetered parallel parking. In their review of the new ForTwo, TTAC says the second-generation vehicle is "a great idea in theory, a laughable device in practice. " They detail their charges here.

The main problems, TTAC says, is that this is a, basically, a toy car. It doesn't have the oomph needed for the kind of highway driving we're used to and the transmission is pretty bad (they say it "still shifts the way Frank Costanza talks," if that means anything to you Seinfeld fans).

While the luggage space is larger and improved suspension is better than in the first version, the ForTwo, they say, still isn't quite ready for prime time. The only ForTwo I've only driven was a Brabus diesel, and that trip was only around the block, but it was all right. We look forward to giving the US version of the ForTwo a deeper review of our own in the future.

[Source: TTAC]