I'm not going to say this article was a masterpiece, but it certainly provided some useful information, and for god's sakes, folks, aren't you reading this FOR FREE? Jeez, what a bunch of brats. You get something for nothing and turn around and bitch, bitch, bitch just to show how much smarter you are than everyone else. Shame on your mothers for not teaching you better.

That said, the gas mileage for this thing is abysmal. My pop's three-year-old Hyundai Elantra gets 40 mpg on the highway and fits four adults and a bunch of other stuff with no trouble at all. And spongy brakes in this day and age? That's just inexcusable. Fortunately, I have the subway at my disposal, so I rarely have to deal with any of these horrible Earth-murdering contraptions.

I'm amazed at how many people feel so strongly that the Smart Car is really a dumb car. Does someone have to be wrong just so you can be right? Vitriol, people, does not lead to constructive discourse!

That said, I own a Smart Car. I love it. I cut my gas usage and bill in half, the car is 95% recyclable (according to SmartUSA), comfortably fits my 6'4" husband (more headroom than in the Lexus we replaced), is relatively solid compared to some of the small cars we compared it with (Hyundai, Zap, Yaris), and the ease of parking has been an absolute joy. It also costs half what a Prius would go for around here. No, it is not perfect (I like the Ipod comparison), but it is a good start.

Now for some tidbits: It can be quite terrifying in wind, or on a bad road; I have therefore resolved to stop going 80 mph, and try to stick to 65. The door is so big and the body so short that I frequently go shooting right past where the handle is and have to back myself up; it's an odd time/space sensation, and is very funny to people watching. I find that other drivers are so polite now, mostly because they want to look at the car; I tell myself not to get used to people encouraging me to have the right of way at 4 way stops, or letting me pull into a lane in front of them, because the novelty is bound to wear off eventually, and probably quite suddenly!

Better to argue the merits of the Smart versus the Fit versus the old Metro than Navigator vs Yukon vs Hummer.

I think there may be a snowball effect as these small cars become a larger share of the mix on the road. Safety concerns lessen as it becomes less likely that you will tangle with an SUV.

As a regular bicycle commuter, I'd rather take my chances getting hit by a Smart than some SUV behemoth. And it is less likely, since these cars are not only shorter, but less wide.

Lighter, smaller cars must result in savings to us all on road repair, lane sizes, parking space, etc. The gummint should provide more incentives to purchase these vehicles. And fund the incentives with a new tax for the gas guzzlers.

It's the patriotic thing to do.