Anything smaller than an SUV is just plain un-American, says the Senate.
Washington - The Senate yesterday easily rejected an amendment to require the nation's car makers to boost the gasoline efficiency of their vehicles.And Trent Lott (who certainly knows something about trying to overcompensate for a man's feelings of inadequacy) says, about DaimlerChrysler's tiny Smart car, one of the most brilliant automotive designs of our time, "Don't make the American people drive that little runt of a car."
In fact, contrary to the commercially-cultivated prejudices of the American consumer who will never feel, or in fact be, safe even in a Bradley tank, the Smart is one of the safest cars ever designed. DaimlerChrysler's site in the UK describes the design [click onto "safety"] here.
In fact I'm just crazy about the car, and my affection has little to do with its ability to withstand impacts - other than the impact of its own delicious appeal. If it sounds like I'm marketing this beautiful little car and its entire way of life, I am. The more people in the U.S. know about its virtues the sooner I may be able to drive one here.
Well, I can dream.
infectious image from the Brazilian site, Carsale
You snooze, you lose, James. I found one on ebay six weeks ago, where it quickly sold for the 'buy it now' price of $16k.
It was in the Mercedes/Other models category, in case you want to start checking...
I actually did see that item, having been alerted in time by your post, and I can't really explain even to myself why I didn't buy it.
Maybe I was a little shy about an actual car, however modest, being my very first dip into ebay waters, but I was also a bit sceptical about whether I could homologate it in New York.
I confess this perhaps excessive caution comes from someone who once owned a tiny 1967 Lancia passing as a pre-U.S. regulations 1964 model, and who also cherished his contraband European FIAT Cinquecento for nine years in spite of its U.S.-illegal everything.