When the Mercedes Smart for Two micro cars began to surface in America in 2008, a new innovation and subcompact segment has been launched. This is an alcove market specialty vehicle that can be very suitable for metropolitan set ups where parking has become the main problem due to it being tight and expensive.

Thus, those people will find the 8-foot, 8-inch Smart ForTwo to get more attention than those common hybrids. This mini car is over three feet shorter than Mini-Cooper that is often classed as a ?golf cart". This mini car can accommodate two and can fit into an ordinary parking space comparable to a motorcycle instead of doing a parallel parking. The Smart cars are expected to make its distinctive mark especially to urbanites in San Francisco and other crowded cities along both coasts of the US, the smart car should be able to also do well in large UK citys like London, Birmingham and Manchester .

The majority of smaller or mini cars sold in the U. S. have been relatively cheap and these cars are mostly manufactured and built in Korea. The Mini Cooper and Toyota Scion have proven that there is a growing market for quality small cars. ForTwo is very little for it only weighs 1,800 pounds powered by a 70 hp three-cylinder rear mounted engine and with a top speed of 90 M.P.H. Penske Automotive Group, the second-largest dealer chain, has contracted to distribute the Smart and enlisted 73 dealers nationwide. Europeans on the other hand, have these mini cars as part of their lives for over ten years now.

Mercedes has designed this roller skate to overcome safety obstacles faced by every mini-car. A lot of Crash tests and even videos are made available on the internet, which showed that 4 out of 2 is safer than other tiny cars, especially those manufactured in China. During an intense crash tests, the steel safety cage that serves as shield for the passenger has withstand deforming. This mini and inexpensive car has observed standard safety features that can also exist with other luxury vehicles. Its features include four air bags, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, and collapsing steering column.

This will also be tested by The U.S. government after it arrives in the market. A lot of Builders believed that it will pass and even receive four stars in American crash tests. It even recently received four out of five stars in the Euro New Car Assessment Program tests. The Smart mini car is given in three affordable trim levels: one is the base-level Pure; The Passion and Passion Cabriolet convertible.

Apart from that, Smart already has the environmental brand image And the hippest part is in terms of color. All you need to do is to unscrew the plastic body panels and replace it with any hue you please. This has been tagged as one that is very trendy, fuel-efficient, and cost effective. But the "Smart" may not fit what an automotive shape of the future should look like.

The vertical posture is the one that distributes crash energy beneath the car. This is the reason why it creates a large frontal area that hurts fuel efficiency. Smart's very high drag coefficient of 0.38 causes fuel economy to fall in proportion to speed more quickly than the other designs. While the ForTwo could be a start and a contributing factor towards a spatially efficient America, the gas mileage is not significantly above 4-seater cars. With the 505 horsepower asphalt-ripping Chevy Corvette rated at 29 m.p.g. highway, the 40 m.p.g. for a micro-car hardly qualifies.

Therefore, mini cars offers advantages and disadvantages and it would be up for car consumers to decide which is of better quality and what will suit their needs best..