[URL]http://www.thesmart.co.uk/[/URL] So, I wonder why this delightful derivitive of the Smart Car isn't offered in the U.S.A.? I am refering to the new roadster model. Its sold all over Europe and G.B., so why not in the largest of car markets, the U.S.? This little gem would appeal to the high school and college set. Maybe even to grandpas trying for a second childhood. I like the idea of a light but powerful car that looks just right. It has a supercharged three cylinder engine, can be fitted with full instrumentation, removable hardtop, etc., etc. The only downside I see might be in the handling. Its engine sits in the rear. I figure our safety regs might have something to do with it, but there must be a workaround if Daimler was interested. Not everybody wants 10 tons of steel around him for protection; the bigger they are, the harder they fall - its the inertia. Weight is always self defeating. Drop a feather from a 10 story building onto a cement walkway and it lands intact without so much as a barb out of place. Drop a lead bullet and it will flatten to about half its original size. Besides, don't you expect to get mangled in a wopping good crash anyways? F86 pilots do but they still fly anyways after they found that no matter how strong the safety cage is around a pilot when he hits a mountain doing 500 all they find is a grease spot where the pilot used to be. Build 'em light for me.
