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The top speed for this car is about 70km/h on a flat road. It would be less on an incline, so probably 40-50km/h on a steep incline.

This car is for Indian and other developing countries where they don't drive that fast anyway because of poor road conditions. It is not for the fscked up roads in US and certain parts of Canada where going to the store means jumping on an highway going 100mph just so you can get to the giant Walmart Supercenter. Heck, a glued car probably would not pass safety requirements - if you want something that small just get a diesel powered Smart car and it will give you more power and burn less gas (4l/100km or about 70+mpg - diesel)

http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?id=4730

And with Smart at least you get "perks" like electronic stability program (esp®) with hill holder; anti-lockbraking system (abs) with electronic brake-force distribution;acceleration skid control; brake assist;dual-circuit brake system with servo-assistance; sequential 6-speed transmission. And a top speed of 135km/h or about 85mph vs 70km/h or 45mph for the Indian car.

That model seems to be working just fine for the SMART Fortwo. Heck, I might consider one for my next vehicle. They're very cute.

In fact, SMART themselves are planning a vehicle like this for next year, according to Wikipedia....

The smart burns 3.7 - 4.6 l/100k. That is 51 - 64 MPG for the disel version of SMART.
Average 4.2 l/100km or 56 MPG

http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?id=4730

Gas gets always crappier millage

The Canadian site specs the gas mileage at 4.2l/100km or about 56.2mpg. http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?id=4904

I too, thought the mileage was weak compared to my 14 year old diesel Jetta that easily gets 45mpg and has over 414 000 kms on it (257 000 Miles). However, I've talked to owners at the pumps and they've claimed to get mileage much higher than that, closer to 72mpg.

Heck if you drive down a side street in Montreal at less than 60mph you will get blown off the road! I can just imagine driving down Hollywood Blvd at less than the going insane rate...then watching as some irate moron points his Glock at you because you smiled at him when he gave you the finger. It is a commuter car not a Rice Rocket or SUV monster we are discussing here....The USA does not even believe in the Smart http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?ID=4720 car yet and most Americans still have there head up their ass when it comes to commuter cars and sensible transportation..so I guess you are right it does not go fast enough for the average American motorist moron!

I know defending Microsoft isn't really permitted here, but this is common business practice, particularly in the auto industry. For example, here in Canada, the supply of Smart Cars (http://www.thesmart.ca/) is kept artificially low in order to keep prices high. IIRC Chrysler did the same with the PT Cruiser when it was introduced, and BMW did the same with the "new" Mini.

Correct Links:

http://www.thesmart.ca/
http://www.smartforum.ca/
http://www.100mpg.ca/

I guess us Canadians are just plain cooler.

The coolest (techie-cool, anyway) cars I see around Vancouver are the Toyota Prius, and the Smart. I wouldn't mind driving either.

I've only seen a handful of Smarts so far, but zillions of Priuses. One taxi company run a fleet of them. Two people in my office whirr in to the parking lot in them.

...laura

I've seen them in Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Ottawa and Montreal.

They got their floor demos about three weeks ago; there's a MB dealership right across where I work, and I see them regularly.

According to the salesman, this year's allocation for Canada has already been sold out.

Sitting in one, you don't feel the "tinyness" of the thing; Inside, it's about as big as a Toyota Echo (well, except for the back seat); definitely some TARDIS technology at work here.

The CDN smart page is at http://thesmart.ca/

I was surprised by how large they feel inside, I expected it to feel cramped but doesn't at all, they just chop it off after the driver and passenger seats.

I'm also surprised at how long it's taking for them to be available in the US. You can get them in Canada.