Seen a Smart Car?

I have noticed a lot of small cars recently and I thought these were European cars which were imported in. Well, I learned a few days ago that they are called Smart Cars and I finally, I got to touch and sit on one!

The Smart Car is obviously small. They're cute and as Janice, the lady owner above said "be prepared to be a spectacle" or what this other owner calls "smiles per mile":

It's officially called smart fortwo - of course, because it is designed to carry 2 persons only. From the inside though, it does not feel like it is a small car andit is actually surprisingly relatively (did I just use 3 adverbs???) spacious for a car its size!!! It's got some cargo space - and I mean, just probably some 8 cubic feet. That didn't stop impresarios from fitting in much more people into it though:

I'm very sure they are not going anywhere at all!

Anyway, the Smart Car is sold at a base price of $12,000. With a couple of upgrades, it could easily go up to $17,000 - almost as expensive as the bigger Honda Civic.

It definitely has high mileage at 45mpg. Assuming 10,000 miles per year usage, that translates to about $2000 savings per year versus a Honda Civic though. So, the Smart Car may definitely be an alternative cheaper way to commute.  

The Smart Car is made by Mercedes. So yes, it is indeed a European car and it can do a lot of fancy moves. Check it out!



And being Mercedes-made, one expected its passing crash tests with flying colors at 30 mph. Here's another version at 70 mpg though:

I think the Smart Car is good for normal city driving and I'm sure that this is the perfect car for some people. In fact, it seems it is developing a cult... uhmmm... enthusiast following already.  There is a waiting list to get it and a $99 reservation fee, too! 

As for me, I don't think I am ready for the Smart Car. I like my cargo space to be larger than its 8 cubic feet capacity. We do a lot of out-of-town driving so I feel safer in bigger cars. But that's just me. 

Have you noticed these small smart cars in your streets recently? What do you think of them? 

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Are You Shocked by the Gas Price?

This is the gas price last week!


This is nearly the gas price when we first moved to Boise in 2003. Woohoo! I wonder if everything else will have a price roll back??? Or is that wishful thinking?

Anyhow two months ago... Kuna, the Honda Pilot, required $60 to fill its tank. Although I saw the gas price sign before I went into the gas station last week, I was still pleasantly shocked when I heard the pump stop at $27!!! (I guess I didn't do the math…)

Low gas price is good. I hope it stays that way. Lower to the sub-$1 level is even better and I told Al that I would buy him "something" if it does go down to that level. Hehehe ...

For a while last week, we let our guards down and used Kuna a lot without any hesitation. But eventually, we just naturally gravitated back to using the small car.

No point in unnecessarily spending more for gas even if the gas price is low (this time). After all, it gets us from point A to point B safely and comfortably as well.

How has the gas price affected your driving habits and car purchase plans?

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