Smart Car TARDIS

It's difficult to express what I want in a Smart Car without referencing the time machine from the British television series, Dr. Who.  The time machine in the show is bigger on the inside.  While the Smart ForTwo certainly seems bigger on the inside sometimes, what I want is impossible.

I want a Smart Car TARDIS.

I want my Smart ForTwo ED to be a 4-door vehicle that still fits in the same 106 inches (2.70 m).  I want my Smart car to have the range and power of a Tesla S.  I think I might sound like Veruca Salt, but I still want it.

The Smart ForTwo is aptly named as it fits 2 people.  That's the best way to put it, because to say it fits two people comfortably is inaccurate.   As long as those two people are of average width or less, it will fit two people.  The car is only 64 inches (1.63 m) wide and when two people of more than average width get in, they had better be fine with a loss of personal space.  Putting a safety belt on is a tandem feat as knuckles or heads may be knocked if the action is done simultaneously.

Head room and leg room do no suffer as much as body room, but I'd still like more space.

I'm happy with the tiny car that I have.  I love the speed of the electric powertrain, and I appreciate the silent running.  But I wouldn't mind if it were more like the luxury of the Aston Martin rebadged Toyota IQ.   I acknowledge that I am one of the outliers, one of those who takes a shine to the odd-looking.

Under foot

For those who are aware, the Smart Fortwo is the smallest production vehicle in the US market.   Outside of the Twizzy in the UK and the Tata Nano in India, it might be the smallest in the world.  It is a tiny car and with it comes both good and bad aspects.  In this episode we explore the color of the Smart ForTwo and how it affects the car.

It's been said that certain colors are more noticeable than others.  Some colors are easy to be seen, others are not.  A study in Australia at Monash University pointed out that of all the colors (or lack there of) black is the worst, followed closely by grey, and then silver for likelihood of crashes versus white colored vehicles. The report used "white" as the standard by which all vehicle colors were compared as if to say that white is the easiest to see. Of course the study included comparisons in daylight, dusk, and nighttime.  Dusk it seems holds a particular spite for black.

Personally, I've experienced more than one presumptuous maneuver when driving my Smart, where the other driver doesn't seem to grasp that my car is either real or relative.  Fortunately, with its size, the Smart Fortwo has an excellent capacity move or stop quickly if needed and I've yet to trade paint with anyone.

I am keenly aware of how much I tend to miss vehicles that are much larger and not black, and so I decided on white for my car.  I realize that it's not always possible to get the color of car that you would most like, when purchasing used (sometimes also new).  But I cannot understand why anyone would deliberately purchase or alter the color of their car to black, outside of the precise desire to go unnoticed.

Although I do not have the statistics on the most preferred color in a Smart Fortwo.  I did notice that most of the cars on the lot where I bought mine were black.  Either that was because they were not preferred or because many people seek the color.  I've also noticed, back a few years when searching for a truck, that most of those on the market were also black.  These two observations have lead me to the idea that either black vehicles are unwanted or they are in high demand.  In either case they are still the most likely to be in a collision.

In the United States of America, as far as I know, there is no mandate on what color or size a production car must be or not be.  However, I so chose to make my small car as noticeable as I can, barring painting a sparkling, fluorescent share of pink. I realize that I have no control over the actions of others but I can at least drive Smart-ly and safely.

A Micro Machine

There's an adage that goes "It's not the size of a thing that's important, but how you use it". Often that adage is in reference to things that are small and somewhat personal.  The Smart ForTwo is the smallest production car on American roads and personally, I love it.

I've been asked many times since I bought my Smart Fortwo ED, if I would have purchased the Tesla S, had I the money?  And I've always replied in the negative, even in the face of scoffing, pseudo-offended parties. I'd take the drive-train and batteries of a Tesla any day, but it's the size of the Fortwo that is important to me.

A good example of why I love this tiny car, this micro machine was today at the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival, near my home.  My wife had requested a tamale from one of the food vendors at the festival.  As anyone who as visited a street fair is probably aware, parking nearby is somewhat limited.  I know that my Smart car is small, but it's not always apparent just how small it is, until I need parking where there is none.

I drove around on the streets that were open near the festival.  There was plenty of "bad" parking, such that fire-hydrants were blocked and bumpers overhanging driveways.  Many vehicles where not parked too close to the next, but squeezing the car in, is a hassle.   It is possible to park perpendicular to the curb in a Smart, but it's not legal.  If the vehicle were only 8-foot long rather than 8-foot, 10-inches, it might be more realistic.  But the rule is that one front-wheel and one rear-wheel need to be near the curb,

I managed to find a 9-foot space between the apron of a driveway and an old Cadillac. I will admit that I did box the Cadillac in, but I was only going to be there for five minutes.

There is a certain air of satisfaction that one feels when driving a tiny car around in a area where parking is tight.  I can take spots in side-by-side parking, where the car to each side is sitting on the painted line.  I can take spots between parallel parked vehicles, that have left what they believe no car could fit into.  And when leaving a space that only a Smart Car could fit into, I need not worry about someone else stalking me.

I realize that the Smart Car is not for everyone, after all it only fits two people.  But for getting me and my stuff about, it works quite well and fits into more spaces that I would have considered in any other car. So, although I like the creature comforts of a Tesla S, I'd be just as happy to have the drive train, rather than the car.