smart cars are stupid. I have never understood their role in the US. Economically, they hardly make sense.

Think about it this way - a smart car gets about 34 miles per gallon mixed driving (I've actually heard its FAR less because of the high load on the engine keeping up with traffic) and costs about $18,000 or so. About a year ago, they were selling around here for roughly $25k FYI.

The basic Toyota Camry invoices MSRP is ~$18,500 with an invoice in the mid $17k range and gets about 27 miles per gallon (many report higher as well). It's bigger, nicer, safer, holds more people, holds more stuff, better looking, more reliable, better warranty, has better resale value, more practical, etc etc. If you can pick up a Camry for roughly the same, if not even less $ than a smart, what advantage does the smart have besides the possibility to occassionally get a couple more miles per gallon (under the right conditions of course!)?

I have friends that want to buy their kids cars like the Chevy Aveo or the tiniest Kias and other cars similar to it in size and price. I always discourage them because at 16-21 yrs old, they're the most likely group to be in an accident. My little sister is turning 16 in two months and my mom wants to get her a car in the $5-$8k range. Guess what my suggestion is? A Land Cruiser!! (1993-1995 era) Screw global warming, screw crappy gas mileage - if my sister is any accident, I want to know she has the best possible chance to walk away from it.

__________________
2001 X5 4.4i
2002 Honda S2000