Yes, it makes sense for Smart to announce the release of their forTwo in May, because the car is prominently featured in The da Vinci Code which comes out on May 19th. The Smart forTwo has been available in Canada for about a year - they're selling better than anticipated (even in "big oil country," where I live). They still surprise me when I see one bombing through the snow in winter, but they seem quite at home in harsh conditions, too. You mentioned that "it looks small and dangerous," but suspect that full-sized SUVs and trucks are the truly dangerous vehicles, because their sheer size and mass makes them more likely to cause severe damage in accidents involving normally sized passenger cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians (in other words, the main reason that some people choose big vehicles is to "protect" themselves from other overly large trucks). The Smart, on the other hand, is perfectly scaled as an efficient and useful city commuter.

SmartCars have been here in the USA for a while now :-) http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2005/RDMHomeMarch2005.h... However, we do look forward to the day when they are more readily available.

So these are some sort of new inline roller skates? Neat!

I was in New York a few months ago and I was astonished by all the trucks and SUV's. Coming from Amsterdam I have been accustomed to small cars in a big city as big cars clogs up the roads. Example Manhatten.... Now if those people would all drive smarts and have the cabs use a smaller car it would solve a lot of problems there. iDD

15k for one of those??? you could get a nice gas efficient civic with much more room (and probably zip) for that price i always laugh at those who own mercedes of any kind...its basically a way of telling the public "i overpaid for a piece of trash since i know nothing about cars"

I have already seen a few of these around the Seattle area.

Actually, the smart cars are an absolute blast to drive. They've got a turbo-powered 3 cylinder engine, and they an realy get up and go. The wide stance of the tires makes them incredibly stable as well. We took them across town on some wide open interstate traffic, and our convoy didn't particularly slow down traffic. (Except for the gawkers.) There's a surprising amount of room in them- perfect for small grocery errands or a commuter vehicle. You've got the back seat as well as the 'trunk', which can probably store 4-5 bags of groceries. 2 kids and Hockey gear probably aren't going to fit, but dropping everybody off at school on a normal day before hitting the stop and go rush to work? Not a problem. The fun factor of driving a Smart is also well above that of a Civic. As for safety, they've got a pretty rigid frame surrounding the passenger compartment, as well as the usual bevvy of airbags and crumple zones. It's easy to imagine the worst case scenario of two SUV's crushing you in between, but for what are more 'typical' crash scenarios, I'd feel perfectly comfortable in one.

some smart car pics from europe (mostly germany): http://www.pkshiu.com/gallery/smartcars.html

I live in the UK, and a terrestrial tv channel did a test to see how safe the 2 seater version was, as it claimed encap status at the top of class safety rating, they drove it into a wall of concrete blocks head on and the test dummy was very safe, as the energy was impacted and transferred round the hard shell and frame. It looks as if there is only a few inches from the front of the car to the passengers, but that opinion is obviously wrong. The same car program also tested a family car, 6 seater £17,000 new against a new £32,000 SUV. The results were suprising as the jeep would have killed the passengers, and the family car would have only caused minor bruising and cuts.

These are pretty cool little cars, but $15,000 is quite a bit to ask for these vehicles. Just as with Hybrids, people are going to have to make informed financial decisions about whether these cars are worth that much money or not. Hybrids are turning out to not be quite the money-saving deal that they were touted as: http://www.vincedee.com/2006/04/10/11/ And with the introduction of other small cars like the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit in the sub-$15,000 range, the Smarts may have missed their window of opportunity and gone from "tres chic" to "run-of-the-mill". I hope they succeed, if for no other reason than the increased competition they'll provide, but when you can buy a 4-seater Yaris for as little as $11,000, the 2-seater Smart doesn't look quite as good. They do have a unique style, though. Overall, I'm extremely pleased to see competition in the sub-compact car market ramped up...it's about time.

Maybe you can't get the smart for four, but here in Seattle you can find the Smart for Two from the green car company. The local media made a big ta do about the opening of the dealership and the test drives they offered. Personally I've always kind of liked the way they looked but have never actually driven one. My favorite mode of transport is a Vespa.

The one thing nobody mentioned so far is that you can park these things sideways in your typical parallel parking space. I seem them in motorcycle/scooter zones once in a while. I had the forfour as a rental for a few days and was not impressed. Really cheap plastic interior, squeaks and rattles, and completely gutless. It's no wonder nobody bought them even with Robbie Williams trying to help out. The two-seaters seem much better put together.

I've seen them in Phoenix, they're sold at a Mecedes botique in Scottsdale I believe. $15k is a bit much for something that could turn into an air hockey puck easily with all the SUVs around. Its one thing to travel around the city in those, but I'd feel safer on my Vespa than in one of those on a freeway.

Here in the US I almost bough one of these on- line from a seller in Spain and have it shipped... but Smart polices prohibited the sale/shipping to countries they did not serve. (a good solid reputable point if you ask me...) The thing is that I had it all soupped up, converticle, custom colors and body graphics... a real gem... all custom made for $15K. I later learned of a sale outfit near Frisco Bay that sold them fro $21K, ridiculous!. You could actually go to Mexico and buy one and drive it to the States... same thing as a Ford KA... but not as appealing as a Smart. Then at the LA Auto show you see Smarts KOEING editions... (Like an AMG version of MB) with 100's of HP's... This things are cool and safe. the have believe it or not the same crsch protection of the C230 MB class. So it is the perfect conmute car... MB should have brought this long time ago along with the A class... nuckleheads....

I saw a vid of one crashing into a solid wall at 70 mph, and, while the exterior was gone, the passenger safety cage was unharmed. I think there was a little ding in one corner of the frame.

oh, here's that crash vid. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=660573076707750348...