(Orin patiently awaits his turn on the SMARTY-go-round)
Digging myself from a pile-o-crap that has landed on me recently, I’ve finally had a chance to visit my fellow blogmates to see what’s new in the scootering world. Orin, the lucky SOB, had a chance to put the screws to a new SMART. I appreciate his brutal honesty… well, it’s only brutal if you’re a SMART fanboy / fangirl. In summary he says that the SMART is a car for modern microcar fans. It’s tiny and cute and small and cuddly; that sums up its Pluses.
I’m expecting to give her a go next month. We’ll see if TheScoop is in concurrence with TheOldSkool.
We are also awaiting word on the 2008 Toyota AYGO and expecting to see her on the red carpet at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Show later this year along with her little sister the Endo.
Hrm… I wonder if Chevy will actually do anything with their BEAT concept. Let’s get some 45mpg+ microcars on the roads Chevy! A little birdie says nothing expected until 2010 or 2011.
Oh yeah! And what’s up with that iCar Mitsubishi?
6. September 2007 at 10:40 pm
The Aygo illustration looks interesting, but Toyota has been selling a car by that name in Europe for a few years now. It’s built in the Czech Republic and also sold as a Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1. About the size of the last Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift, with a 1.0-liter gas or 1.3-liter diesel.
Oh, and when the smart people call, I plan to ask for my deposit back. I really hated the way it drove, and since the drive, I keep asking myself, why not a CVT instead of the incredibly complicated auto-clutch manual transmission? Why does the thing drive like it weighs 3000 lbs?
7. September 2007 at 9:59 pm
Good point on the trans. Mitsubishi has a nice CVT in the new Lancer.