Local woman loves her smart car
Sat, Aug 9, 2008 
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BY BECKY VARGO
bvargo@grandhaventribune.com
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — Patty Heron said she's always been energy conscious, so it only made sense to hook up with one of the smallest cars to be seen around town these days.
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Besides, she says, "I always have to have the latest toys."
The 56-year-old Spring Lake Township resident — who said she always reused her lunch bags — got hooked on the smart car while traveling in Europe. She was No. 23 in line to get her blue and silver vehicle from the only dealership in Michigan, once they became available in the United States on Jan. 1. That Detroit-area dealership has now sold more than 400 of the little gas misers which measure 40 inches shorter than a Mini Cooper.
Heron said the smart car has been in Europe for at least eight years, and last year it became available in Canada. Once the company was able to meet U.S. emission standards, it became available here.
The nurse practitioner has several other vehicles, including a Cadillac DeVille and a Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic motorcycle with a sidecar, but she says she's having a blast driving her smart car.
"It's a fun little car" and it attracts a lot of attention, she said.
Heron recently drove the smart car to Wisconsin to visit family and said she didn't feel intimidated by the big trucks, despite the size of her vehicle.
"All it did was slow down traffic ... and people were taking pictures," she said.
Heron said the car doesn't feel as small as it looks, "and tall people can fit in it as well."
She said it handles well in the snow and the driving feels the same at higher speeds as it does at lower speeds. Heron said she actually had the car up to 90 mph while staying with traffic driving around Chicago, and didn't notice any difference in how the car rode — other than it is not quite as comfortable as her Cadillac.
The smart car is manufactured at a "green" factory in Smartville, France. It has a 3-cylinder 1-liter engine, and weighs about 1,800 pounds.
"I liked it because it's very energy efficient," she said. "You always see only one or two people in a car. What a waste of energy."
Although she is still breaking in her engine, Heron said she is averaging 41 miles per gallon driving in town.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rating for the vehicle is 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway — according to Melanie Ricketts, customer relations spokesperson for the Smart Center in Bloomfield.
"But customers are reporting higher mileage — as much as 50 mpg on the highway," Ricketts said.
The smart car is a Mercedes project, Heron said. The name is short for Swatch Mercedes Art.
There are three models of the car, which have base prices of $11,590, $13,590 and $16,590. There are, of course, add-ons which bring the price up. Heated seats, electric power steering and selected colors bring the mid-range car's price tag up to $14,660, plus tax.
Safety
In recent (May) Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the 2008 smart fortwo, the smallest car for sale in the U.S. market, earned the top rating of "good" for front and side crash protection. Its seat/head restraints earned the second-highest rating of "acceptable" for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.
"The big question from consumers is, 'How safe is it?'," said Adrian Lund, president of the institute. "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better. But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."
Anyone interested in the little two-seater will have to get in line.
"We're selling them as fast as we can get them," Ricketts said. "There was a 10-12 month wait when we first opened. It's 18-20 months now."
On the Net:
www.smart.com
www.smartcenterbloomfield.com
