I Drove A SMART Car Last Night
Wow. What an awkward little vehicle!
I drive a midsize/luxury sedan. I like my space.. and I wasn't expecting my elbow to get clobbered by both the door and the seat when I tried to do something simple like closing the door (had the seat been back farther when I got in, this probably wouldn't have happened.) The brake pedal alone is enough to skyrocket my chances of getting into an accident by 20billion%. The pedal "rolls up" towards the front of the vehicle, rather than "pushing down" like in.. EVERY single other car EVER.
Trying to accelerate felt like I was driving a manual car for the very first time. The delay as the automatic transmission shifted gears was almost painful. It was probably only 2-3 seconds, but it felt like an eternity of the engine being disconnected from the wheels.
I had joked when I first saw the key about it looking like part of a Fisher Price/Playskool set. The key has an enormous rounded plastic head that contains the Lock / Unlock / Trunk / Alarm buttons and literally looks like a toy… I hardly expected the vehicle to mirror those impressions and leave me feeling like I was driving something designed for "Ages 3+".
Tags: awkward, fisher price, playskool, REALLY?!, smart car
spudart said,
The pedal rolls up? What does that mean?
Big key? I want pics! (i did a quick search on google images, but nothing really came up.
May 13, 2009 @ 11:32 am
sparx said,
Instead of pushing the pedal "down", like you would a normal pedal, you end up pushing it "forward" towards the front of the car. It feels almost like you're trying to push a ball (with one flat side for your foot to press against) away from you. It's really weird.
This forum post has a picture of the key-style that I used. It looks fake and toyish. http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f66/smart-center-edison-keychains-4171/#post45636
May 14, 2009 @ 9:22 am
unlikelymoose said,
The key looks like a plastic cover for a lollipop. They should have rearranged the buttons on the key so it makes a smiley face.
Sparx, are you a gearhead in any shape or form? I think the fact that you know that the engine disconnects from the wheels while it changes gears makes you a gearhead on one level or another. I didn't know such a fact. Gearheads are very mindful about the driving experience. Non-gearheads don't notice 5% of the things that gearheads do. Now I want to drive one of these SMART cars to judge for myself. Though I really really really really don't want to have to deal with a car dealer.
May 14, 2009 @ 10:51 am
sparx said,
Me a gearhead? Nah. I just like to know how things work. Everything.
May 14, 2009 @ 10:58 am
unlikelymoose said,
gearhead.
May 14, 2009 @ 10:59 am
spudart said,
was the SMART car a he, she, it, or alien?
May 14, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
unlikelymoose said,
It's an it. Every car is an it. There are no he cars or she cars or alien cars. Cars are cars.
May 15, 2009 @ 8:42 am
sparx said,
Riiiiggghhht… so when a mommy and daddy want a new car, the car-stork just drops one off in the driveway?
May 15, 2009 @ 9:03 am
spudart said,
Cars are aliens. So are snowflakes.
May 16, 2009 @ 1:20 am