Smart Car USA Tour is starting this weekend in Southern CA

Need · 05-17-2007, 03:42 PM

It will be at the Irvine Spectrum on May 19 - 20. Goto smart website for more details! I am going to a private showing next week for people who put down the $99 deposit. I hope they have a good number of models and colors there.

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Need · 05-24-2007, 01:34 AM

Today I went to the Mercedes dealership in Covina, Los Angeles, for the private invitation only Smart USA preview. I was told that they were showing the same cars used in the public event last weekend at Irvine. There were a total of 8 smart fortwo's there: blue/yellow/black cabrio and 2black/red/white/silver passion/pure. It was hard to tell which one was passion and which one was pure. They all got alloy wheels, so they all looked like the passion model.

The one that I test drove was the blue cabrio with black tridion cell. For me, it is the most attractive looking of the bunch. The yellow cabrio with silver tridion cell came a close second. I am partial to the black color tridion cell, so maybe if the yellow one got black tridion, it would have a chance against the blue one. I was hoping there would be a red cabrio with black tridion but they only had a red passion with silver tridion. I didn't really like the shade of the red. I was hoping it would be darker like the one they show on the website.

The interior of the car is very simple, nothing fancy. There are plenty of room for seating but not much storage space. The trunk area is small for passion and smaller for the cabrio. It is big enough for a trip to the supermarket, but a trip to Costco may not be a good idea. One interesting thing about the trunk gate release is that you need to pull both levers on the 2 sides to release it. It would be hard to do if you holding something in one hand. The rear view mirror has a funny V shape. At first glance, I thought it was just for the look, but after seating at the driver seat, I found out the reason. The rear view was blocked by the backs of the 2 seats on the sides, so the only visible back view is already covered by the V shape mirror.

Anyway, the test drive was short, but it was expected as there was a very long line. It took a little getting used to the automated manual transmission. The test drive was done in automatic mode, and the gear shifting was a little rough. I was told that it would get a lot better in manual mode. Other than the transmission, it was fun to drive and the car handled well.

At first I thought the private invitations were only sent to the people who put down the $99 reservation fee. Later I found out that most of the people there were invited because they were customers of the dealership. I talked to person behind me in the line for the test drive, and he just happened to be a writer for edmunds.com inside line. I guess there will be a new article on edmunds about this smart tour event soon.

I took some pictures. Just remove nospam from the URL below to see them.

http://public.fotki.com/nospambalsac...mart_usa_tour/

franka2000 · 05-11-2008, 07:18 PM

i want to get a smart car fortwo i curently own a c350, i need a smart car to drive to work everyday, i work 5 miles from work.

Mike T. · 05-15-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franka2000

i work 5 miles from work.

Man that must be rough!

Just kidding man.

chinesekid · 05-16-2008, 03:33 AM

i work there.. doesnt really get that much gas miles.. like mid 30's... its good for streets...

05-11-2008, 07:18 PM	#3
franka2000 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: MIRAMAR,florida Posts: 172 Drives: I have the 2008 C 350 sport. Irridium Silver Metalic,Multimedia Package,iPod,18" AMG wheels	smart car fanatic i want to get a smart car fortwo i curently own a c350, i need a smart car to drive to work everyday, i work 5 miles from work. __________________

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05-24-2007, 01:34 AM	#2
Need Newbie Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 2	Today I went to the Mercedes dealership in Covina, Los Angeles, for the private invitation only Smart USA preview. I was told that they were showing the same cars used in the public event last weekend at Irvine. There were a total of 8 smart fortwo's there: blue/yellow/black cabrio and 2black/red/white/silver passion/pure. It was hard to tell which one was passion and which one was pure. They all got alloy wheels, so they all looked like the passion model. The one that I test drove was the blue cabrio with black tridion cell. For me, it is the most attractive looking of the bunch. The yellow cabrio with silver tridion cell came a close second. I am partial to the black color tridion cell, so maybe if the yellow one got black tridion, it would have a chance against the blue one. I was hoping there would be a red cabrio with black tridion but they only had a red passion with silver tridion. I didn't really like the shade of the red. I was hoping it would be darker like the one they show on the website. The interior of the car is very simple, nothing fancy. There are plenty of room for seating but not much storage space. The trunk area is small for passion and smaller for the cabrio. It is big enough for a trip to the supermarket, but a trip to Costco may not be a good idea. One interesting thing about the trunk gate release is that you need to pull both levers on the 2 sides to release it. It would be hard to do if you holding something in one hand. The rear view mirror has a funny V shape. At first glance, I thought it was just for the look, but after seating at the driver seat, I found out the reason. The rear view was blocked by the backs of the 2 seats on the sides, so the only visible back view is already covered by the V shape mirror. Anyway, the test drive was short, but it was expected as there was a very long line. It took a little getting used to the automated manual transmission. The test drive was done in automatic mode, and the gear shifting was a little rough. I was told that it would get a lot better in manual mode. Other than the transmission, it was fun to drive and the car handled well. At first I thought the private invitations were only sent to the people who put down the $99 reservation fee. Later I found out that most of the people there were invited because they were customers of the dealership. I talked to person behind me in the line for the test drive, and he just happened to be a writer for edmunds.com inside line. I guess there will be a new article on edmunds about this smart tour event soon. I took some pictures. Just remove nospam from the URL below to see them. http://public.fotki.com/nospambalsac...mart_usa_tour/

05-16-2008, 03:33 AM	#5
chinesekid Almost a Member! Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 30	i work there.. doesnt really get that much gas miles.. like mid 30's... its good for streets...

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