I confess that I have been lusting after environmentally friendly cars since electronic cars and hybrids first hit the market. Now I’ve found a new object for my lust, as a company called Smart, affiliated with Mercedes, is bringing a new diesel-fueled mini-car to the US. This two-seater gets 70 miles a gallon — a godsend with recent gas prices — and is only eight feet long. With that size, you can fit two in a compact spot end-to-end, or three if you park them sideways. You can also apparently inspire street-hardened punks to hug your car.
As usual, we’ll be the last to see this neat new gizmo — Europe and Mexico already have it, and Canada is not far behind — but in tribute to how, um, special the American market is, Smart will be releasing a special SUV version which still manages to deserve the term mini. Using a rigid steel cage, Smart engineers made these cars more crashworthy than a Ford Escort, but luckily, they didn’t lose sight of what’s important: looks. That’s right, you can swap out the panels on this baby as easily as you can change the faceplate on your cell-phone, and since the panels are made of colored plastic, there’s no expensive paint job to scratch.
As a denizen of San Francisco, I’m simply excited that I won’t be having to sacrifice rabbits, lambs, babies, or virgins to the parking gods anymore. With this car, I could park anywhere! No one can stop me now! Muahahahaha!
Hot Wheels [Wired]
