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"In every place, at any time of day, I found a spot, usually several, often within five minutes. The spaces were certainly odd -- little scraps of pavement between garages, in otherwise unparkable corners jammed up against hydrants -- but they were all legal. And I had one of the only cars in the city that could fit in these out-of-the-way areas."
Riiiight. And the reason these tiny spaces were available?
Cause you had an unusually tiny car.
Once Smart cars become more common, even just a little more common, those scraps of parking will disappear forever. Goodbye advantage.
And 33 MPG is not going to cut it. I got 28 MPG in my Suburu Legacy station wagon, with all wheel drive and the ability to tow a thousand pound trailor. 'Course, I drive a 5-speed manual. Automatics, to put it kindly, suck eggs. I assume the Smart is also available with a manual?
A rollerskate like the Smart Car is going to have a hard time competing with regular small cars that get similar mileage. One problem with being nice and high up in the Smart Car is that you are pushing the same wind profile as a regular car, just with 3 feet cut off the end.
I'd rather spend my money on a plug-in electric with a 50 mile range as a second family car. A temporary parking advantage isn't good enough for me.
