Tiny car, debuting in U.S. in '08, has waiting list

05:28 PM PDT on Friday, April 13, 2007

By JIM MATEJA
Chicago Tribune

Worried about the price of gasoline?

No fear, Smart is coming with its promise to consume no more than an eyedropper of gasoline to get you to work and back -- and back and back 400 miles or more -- before the need to pull up to a high-priced pump.

The Fortwo model, a DaimlerChrysler product, is expected to arrive in the U.S. in the first quarter of next year. Story continues below

Special to The Press-Enterprise

Prices for the Smart cars will range from $12,000 to $17,000.

But starting this month, you can "reserve" your low-price, high-mileage Fortwo.

Of course, like they say, there's no free lunch. There are a couple hurdles, one being that you can reserve one, but it won't arrive in the U.S. for another year.

And when it does, there's no guarantee of when buyers will take delivery.

Still Ken Kettenbeil, spokesman for Smart USA, doesn't want to dissuade consumers -- credit card in hand -- from placing their order at smartusa .com.

And before you recoil at the thought of charging a car to your credit card, you don't have to put up the full $12,000 for the Smart Pure Fortwo coupe or $14,000 for the Smart Passion Fortwo coupe or $17,000 for the Smart Passion Fortwo cabriolet -- or do you say convertible? A $99 deposit, which will be applied to the purchase price, will reserve a car.

And interested parties shouldn't be discouraged by the fact that those who sign up this month or later are second in line to the Smart "insiders," who have been sending in their $99 since March 19.

Insiders are those who visited the Web site months ago, when word got out that sales of the car available in Europe for about seven years would expand to the U.S. in early 2008. They've been seeking information regularly via e-mail.

Not to be a killjoy, but there are 43,000 "insiders." With estimates of about 20,000 sales annually to start -- Kettenbeil won't say -- you have to suspect there will be a rather lengthy "waiting" list.

Kettenbeil, however, insists that many of those 43,000 insiders who raised their hands won't raise a checkbook when it gets down to actually buying one. So, that's why those who visit smartusa.com now for the first time can sign up to be insiders, too, and probably be approved within an hour. If it gets you up higher on the list, why wait until Monday?

Kettenbeil says the car seats two and gets 40 to 60 mpg from its 1-liter engine teamed with an automatic transmission that can be shifted manually.

Smart is roughly 5 feet wide, 5 feet tall and 8 feet 8 inches long, about 40 inches shorter than a Mini Cooper. Smart tips the scales at about 1,600 pounds, or about 900 pounds less than a Mini. It's so small, two of them fit in the space allotted for one car to park now.

The real test of consumer acceptance comes when the motorist taking one out for a drive looks up in the rearview mirror at an approaching 18-wheeler. At least it has to have air bags and adds anti-lock brakes. Its navigation system, however, is called a map.

Initial sales are expected in congested cities and resort communities to take advantage of its mileage despite its size.

Kettenbeil said only 50 dealers will be open for business the first year. Once named later this year, the dealers will contact consumers on the reservation list to arrange the sale.