christophe thinks out loud

And you can always just wind up the key on the back

When we lived in the UK, the Smart Car was just starting to catch on. Smart had a dealership in the Green Park Underground station, which shows you just how compact those things are . . . but I was able to fit into one just fine, all 6' of me.

I’d buy one in a heartbeat, especially living in San Francisco. If they made one as a hybrid, it would be darn near the perfect city car. Sadly, DaimlerChrysler has said that they aren’t planning to sell them in the US until 2006.

It’s just a myth that SUVs are somehow safer than other cars, even though we still have idiots here in America who seem to view the road as a Monster Truck Pull. Being able to park in a microscopic space is something every city-dweller can relate to. And now that gasoline prices are finally getting high enough that people have to think about how much they’re burning, the fuel economy matters, too. It’s time. And I think one would look great with a foam-rubber key glued to the back.