Since its release on the U.S market the smart fortwo has been selling out car lots across the country with an initial backorder of a year, yet Yahoo Autos rated it the worst car of the decade.
The car’s lack of approval stems from its limited space that was actually extended 6 inches in size to meet U.S. crash safety standards. It is claimed to have an unsatisfactory miles-per-gallon rate due to its very small size. Smart car owners can agree that their car’s appeal is not just from its comparable efficiency to the Toyota Prius and Mini Cooper but from its small size making it easier to park and maneuver around town.
Ken Kettenbail, spokesman from smart USA said, “The smart fortwo is not the ‘greenest car’ on the market today however when you look at the total package it meets various criteria that classify it as an environmentally friendly or ‘green’ vehicle.”
The fortwo is not a hybrid car, making it the highest mpg car powered solely on gas. The California Air Resource Board also certifies the car for low green house gas and pollutant scores.
Before hitting the road, smart practices low-emissions starting at the production facility in Hambach, France. Parts of the car are made from recycled material and the car itself is 95 percent recyclable. Interestingly enough, smart USA is an independent distributor of the smart fortwo in the U.S. and is responsible for sales and marketing of the car on their own.
Smart continues to improve their car even after the car is bought. All owners were offered a free software upgrade to the most recent model which was a software upgrade to allow smoother transitions between gears. The next step the car will take is yet to be seen until 2011 when a redesign will be applied.
