By Michael Karesh

12.01.2008

The original smart was a tiny, two-seat car developed by a partnership of Mercedes-Benz and Swatch, maker of whimsically styled, affordable Swiss watches. Powered by a rear-mounted 600cc engine and only 98 inches long, the fortwo was designed for Europe’s congested cities, where it could be parked nose to the curb. Swappable plastic body bits gave the microcar some of the character of a Swatch watch. Figuring there wasn’t a market for such a car in the less densely populated, long commute-loving U.S., the manufacturer never offered it here.

The second-generation fortwo is eight inches longer–but still tiny–with a larger–but still tiny—engine. Combine the size increases with (until recently) higher gas prices, and we get the second-gen fortwo. And, what do you know, the waiting list is over a year long.

Even though the North American HQ is 15 minutes from my house, I wasn’t immediately able to drive the new Americanized fortwo and see what all the fuss is about. You see, you have to make an appointment first. After playing a bit of email tag, I gave up. Then one day I dropped by the HQ/dealer and said, “Well, I tried to make an appointment.” They graciously bent the rules and granted me a test drive. Continue Reading →