The Smart ForTwo Bares All for Summer
Well, it has worked for some celebrities… Going topless has perked up a lot of sagging careers (pun intended). But the question remains… do we really want to see the Smart Fortwo topless?
The DaimlerChrysler division has gambled that we do…
While some would describe it not much better than walking in on their grandmother in the shower, others say it is rather “cute”. We shall hold our middle ground and instead just say that it was… predictable!
There is a line of consumers waiting to get their hands on one of these, but the critics wonder just how long the uniqueness of the new look will last. Long enough for the last current buyer to drive off the lot… or will it have the stamina to bring in new buyers for the next couple of years?
Thankfully, we can all rest assure that the newest model of the Smart ForTwo meets safety regulations beyond that of the original. The 2008 ForTwo now comes with side airbags… and the front end has also been redesigned with a new fascia to reduce damage to pedestrians in the case of accidental impact…
Which as Motor Trends says, “(assuming), of course, that the ForTwo has enough power to damage a pedestrian.”
All jokes aside, the ForTwo is designed for fuel economy and easy city driving. Horsepower should never even become an issue. That is of course unless you are going to see ANY highway driving… which case, might we warn you that the 45 horsepower cdi diesel (10% increase from last year) will become bug splat on the window of some Chevy Tahoe. No ifs, ands, or whens about it!
The rest of the line also received a bit of an increase in horsepower. There are three 1.0 liter 3-cylinder gas sippers (47 on up to 78 mpg) to choose from. There’s the 61 horse, 71 horse, and finally the (dare we say) high performance 84 horse buggy.
Top speeds of 90 mph are said to be quite possible if the wind is blowing just right, and 0-60 can be had at just over 13 seconds.
We really tried not to poke too much fun here, really we did… but what’s the ForTwo going to do about it, run us over! Not anymore…
The 2008 Smart ForTwo Cabriolet is a far cry above what it used to be, so if you live in the right metropolitan area to support the usability of one of these, we say go for it! If it’s have as fun to drive as it is to make fun of, we all should own one!
