Compact vehicle draws attention, but concerns linger for some consumers

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BANGOR – The 40 miles per gallon that Stu Tinker gets driving his two-seat Smart car – the fortwo passion – is just a bonus.

“It’s a fun car to drive,” the local bookstore owner said about the eye-catching yellow vehicle he purchased in March. “I just like the style. You just smile every time you look at it.”

The 8-foot-8-inch-long Smart car, which Tinker has nicknamed “Buzz,” because of its bumblebee coloring, is one of only about 7,000 sold so far in the United States since they were introduced at the end of January by Mercedes-Benz Cars, a Daimler AG company.

Tinker was on a trip to England a decade ago when he was introduced to the car.

“My wife and I were in London during 1998 and everywhere we went we saw these cars,” he said while standing recently inside Betts Bookstore on Hammond Street. “I said, ‘I want one’ and my wife [Penney] just rolled her eyes.”

Over the years, Tinker has kept an eye on the development of the Smart car, which has seen “vast improvements” in safety since it was introduced in Europe. He was one of the first to jump on board once the vehicles were released in the U.S.

Tinker traveled to Lynnfield, Mass., which is the closest dealership to Maine, to purchase his Smart car. Demand is so high for the car that interested people are being asked to put a $99 deposit down to reserve a spot in line to order one.

Such high demand means it will be awhile before they are made available in Maine, Tom Brown, Maine Auto Dealers Association president, said Thursday.

“There is very limited distribution in the U.S. right now,” he said. “There are a number of [Maine car] dealerships that would be interested in having the Smart cars available, but there aren’t enough to go around, so it’s going to be awhile.

Another issue with the Smart car is that they are “not built to meet California emissions standards. [And] that’s required in Maine,” Brown said.

Since Massachusetts has the same requirements, Tinker’s car had to be converted to be sold in that state and registered in Maine.

The microcar is so small that two could be parked in a normal parking spot. Everywhere Tinker goes, he’s questioned about the gas mileage and safety of his Smart car.

“I’m averaging low 40s [mpg] right now in town,” he said. “When coming back from Boston, I was driving 70-75 mph all the way and got 44.2” mpg. “I thought it was great.”

And with gasoline reaching nearly $4 a gallon, the economics of owning the minicar makes a lot of sense.

“For one or two people, it’s tremendous,” Tinker said. “Why are we driving these huge tanks when we don’t need to?” The price of gas is “probably going to get worse,” he added.

The Smart car is 5.1 feet tall and 5.1 feet wide, weighs 1,800 pounds and feels larger than it looks. It has enough clearance to handle Maine potholes and road cracks, Tinker said. And though he has yet to drive it in snow, Tinker said he has read accounts from Canadian owners who say it handles fine.

Once inside the vehicle, “it feels like a big car. There is a lot of room in there,” Tinker said. “It’s smooth. [But] you get a little buffeting with trucks.”

A good rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for front-end and side-impact testing is a big selling point for the smallest car available for purchase in the U.S., he said.

“Everything in black is literally a roll bar,” he said. “It’s a cell that you’re sitting in – and it holds up really well. It’s just like a steel cage.”

The official name for the protective shell is the tridion safety cell, which was developed by Mercedes, the Smartusa.com Web site states.

There are four air bags, two in the front and two side air bags, ABS brakes, and electronic stability control to prevent drivers from swerving off the road. The car is rear-wheel drive, similar to a Volkswagen Beetle, and the engine is located below the small trunk, above the rear tires, which have 15-inch rims.

“Other innovations like the selection of energy-efficient and recyclable materials, the removable door panels (you have many options to change the color of your Smart car as you desire) and a high driving position for great visibility and easy entry in a small car combined to make Smart a true revolution in driving style,” the Web site states.

And the five-speed vehicle has different driving options to shift gears while accelerating.

“You can drive it as a fully automatic car or as a standard without a clutch,” Tinker said.

To shift, drivers can use paddles on the steering wheel, one that has a plus sign and one that has a minus sign, or by moving the gear shifter located between the seats.

The paddles provide a much smoother transition, and “you never have to take your hands off the wheel,” Tinker said.

The Smart fortwo pure model base price is around $11,590, the Smart fortwo passion coupe model starts at $13,590 and the Smart fortwo convertible passion cabriolet model starts at $16,590.

Tinker’s passion coupe has a few extras added including heated leather seats, power steering, and a six-CD stereo system that can hook up to an MP3 player or iPod, which plugs in through the glove box.

To say “Buzz” has attracted attention would be an understatement, Tinker said.

“I probably had five people in here [his bookstore] today asking about the car,” he said. “Doesn’t anybody want to buy a book?”

nricker@bangordailynews.net

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