Again...in order for Americans to buy a vehicle it has to be bigger and has to burn gas instead of diesel! You can thank the brainwashed, ignorant masses of consumers in the U.S.A for those design and mechanical changes! Think with you wallet not your future, is that the motto?

Not all Americans think that way but I agree, the majority do unfortunately.

All the money being dumped into war efforts, gasoline engine R&D, alternative fuels, etc. could easilly fund a program to make all cars efficient electrics by a certain date.

Battery and solar technology is where we should be focussing ALL of our effort. The Sun provides infinite, free power and current solar panels can currently only harness about 40% of that.

Is it still overpriced like here in europe?

I've been following the details of Smart cars coming to the US for some time now, and I just wonder how popular they will be.
Living in Chicago I think one would be nice, but what about in the winter, when the one-way street I live on hasn't been plowed? Or driving home to Ohio (only 6 hours, not particularly worth flying home and renting a car)?

If i never left the city, these would be perfect. But alas, my Corolla is paid off, so I think I'm sticking with it until it dies. :)

LA: People in Toronto drive them all winter, I have even seen some at the ski resorts.

Probably better in the snow than the Prius's, or so I hear. And no Solar panels are generally at about 12% efficiency...at least the ones normal people can afford.

I think the license plate should read - "not as smart"

C'mon guys, let's be a little more positive. Even with the changes, this is hardly a large car-- seven inches longer, two inches wider? You can't tell it apart from the old one, for pete's sake.

This is a car that gets 60 (SIXTY) miles per gallon, according to the blurb. How is that a bad thing? Let's applaud Daimler's finally seeing the light on bringing this nifty niche vehicle to the US, and hope that other companies selling high-mileage cars overseas (by the millions) will be able to follow their example.

[BTW it's not as if diesel (even the bio kind) is unequivocally better than gasoline; diesel exhaust particulates are pervasive enough to be a heath hazard in many cities.]

Where are you getting this information regarding the changes? I went to the Smart USA site and it says that you can expect 40 MPG, not 60.

I live in LA and I'm very interested in Smart, but I can get a Toyota Yaris for $14k with more features, room and the same MPG.

Gas is passe. Locally on onsite produced fuels are where it's at.

Popular Mechanics (or Science, I don't remember which) did a road test of the US version of the Smart and averaged less than 40mpg. In the UK, where an imperial gallon is bigger than a US gallon, they get about 60mpg. In Germany, some Smart models sell for less than $5000 USD, they will be 2 or 3-times that here. Here in the US, you can buy a Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Volkswagen, Chevy or Hyundai that gets mileage in the mid-30s. I had a Renault 5 that routinely got 45mpg as did my wife's Toyota Starlet back in the '80s, the Honda Civic VX got over 50mpg without and fancy hybrid monkey motion.
Visiting Germany last year, I badly wanted a Smart. The version that's coming to the U.S. is dumb and won't sell well, only confirming the conventional wisdom that Americans don't want small cars which the automakers will cite in testimony before Congress as the "market forces" preventing them from building fuel-efficient cars.

There's considerable fuel difference between diesel sold in Europe and in the U.S. Much of the size increase is due to EU pedestrian crash requirements (changed on ALL Smart cars).

I'd like 'em smaller and lighter too, but it's more complicated than just conspiracy.

So let me get this straight. I can't have a Euro SmartCar because it doesn't pass emissions standards even though it gets phenomenal gas mileage and it won't pass the crash test which involves, as I understand, running into a wall at 50 mph. Fine. HOWEVER - If I have the money, I can buy a motorcycle that will exceed 160 mph or a car that will exceed 200 mph while burning ungodly amounts of fuel. That's ok. Or, for about $300,000 US, I can buy a Foose Coupe (look it up) which DOESN'T PASS ANY FEDERAL STANDARDS AT ALL. The "logic" of all this escapes me.

I have traveled to Europe several times and seen this smart car quite frequently on the roads with other cars driving at speeds over 100 mph and then brake heavily not to collide with a car in front of them. With a continent that has extremely high diesel and gasoline prices, why is this driving behavior any smarter that USA's driving slower and using V8 engines?

We Americans love V8 torque. Remember too many cubic inches is just enough.

So, is there an option for a V8 in the Smart car?

from the smart usa website.
What is the gas mileage of smart?
"Engineering and testing continues to take place on the vehicle that will be produced for the United States. The vehicle is designed to achieve 40 plus mpg under normal driving conditions and current standards".

pretty vague statement regarding mpg. id want to know more exactly what the mpg will be before ever buying one. alot of difference between 40's and 60's. what is the mpg of the diesel powered smart? the main reason most would buy a smart is for excellent mpg. so why not bring the one with the best mpg to the states? doesnt seem very smart to me.

my festiva gets over 40 on the highway, very reliable, has room to haul even a washer or dryer, and is paid off as well. there are some festiva's on fordfestiva.com that have over 300k on them. so i think we are smarter than the smart car from what ive read of the new stateside smart.

The one answer to all of these questions...The USA still uses the 'TORT' legal system which views car companies as 'deep pockets' for 'Lotto' minded juries. The Tort lawyers of which our current political structure is to a large part, composed of, does not look kindly on any change to their source of income. Be very aware of who you vote for in the USA.

Could any one plz tell me what are the current probelms of smart car,thank you

If you wanna see how the SMART handles US roads and highways, check out this 9 min video review:
http://thescooterscoop.blogspot.com/2007/10/tsstv-s2e2-smart-car-test-ride.html

Listen, whatever that company does is their choice. I get sick of hearing people bashing americans. It's really disgusting . . . like being self-hating.

I see no need for a car like this in the USA. I'll keep my Denali V8 and spend the 3.50$ per gallon for premium fuel. Although, I must admit it is a good way to save money on gas, but all you that think your saving the world by buying a small car think again, because the global warming hoax is close to becoming so false that nobody with half a brain will believe it. That leaves about 3/4ths of America believing in it, but its a start.

Rob is right.. the only reason a car like this should even exist is to save money on gas, which if you need to you should just by a Civic or something. A car this small with this tiny engine in it doesn't even get MPG's much better than a Civic.