I want the aerorider too, when the price is under 3k! But is it safe?

Alright, my opinion is that the fact that you don't even bother to shave and groom yourself for your video blog is akin to turning in a college essay filled with major spelling and grammar errors. It is sloppy, reflects poorly upon the author, and demonstrates a general lack of effort and respect.

What kind of qualification do I expect of someone writing a 'tech' review of the Smart car? As other posters have mentioned, an expertise and history in the field that goes beyond 'leisure driving.' You own response to earlier complaints regarding your ignorance was simply to shrug off the criticisms with a comment of, "I drive a car. That's enough." I doubt very much that some is qualified to write a tech review of the latest Microsoft operating system if their only knowledge of computers is that they have one in the spare room which they use to send emails.

What is so frustrating is that Salon's tech review should be held to high standards, but instead they get a guy who doesn't know his stuff, and worse, doesn't care. You not only don't bother to shave for a video blog, but when someone complains about this you do little more than scoff. You answer criticisms with a shrug and a yawn, and never seem to care that many people have similar problems with your reviews. It would be one thing if you were a political correspondent (no doubt you'd consider yourself qualified for such a job based on the fact you voted...once), but for a tech writer to get such frustration in response to reviews of Apple products, Wii games, and the Smart car is just a joke.

And that is what your reviews are: a joke.

As I mentioned in another post somewhere, I've seen 4 smart cars in the past week: two in SF and two in Oakland/Berkeley. I even saw one on the freeway (Hwy 13). The two I saw in SF were parked "scooter style" with their noses or butts to the curb. Pretty slick. In Berlin they were a common site. Given SF's parking issues alone, never mind the gas savings, I think they may well catch on here as well.

Even the Germans don't like the effing Smart car.

I was in LOOOVE with the Smart car until I realized it's about the same price -and gets about the same mileage- as the Honda Fit. Doesn't seem worth it unless you have a serious parking problem.

Crash video link on my name.

Why are "smart cars" usually dorky looking? Imagine if they would build something with a little sex appeal that gets great mileage.

Oh, and if they would price them so that it doesn't take 350 years of gas savings to justify the premium price.

On the other hand, you can park it on your front porch.

Gas mileage for gasoline-powered internal combustion engines tops out at 35 mpg or so for two simple reasons:

1. Gasoline only has a certain amount of energy in it

2. Minimum useability and safety standards require a minimum weight/size

A minimum weight and size means a minimum amount of force needed to accelerate, climb hills, and overcome friction. Combined with a maximum energy content of the fuel gives you a maximum mileage constraint.

The amount of energy in the fuel that can be used is pretty constant if you use a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine (ICE). ICEs are great at utilizing liquid fuels, but at the price of low thermal efficiencies (10-15%). You can increase mileage a bit by sizing the engine and transmission properly, but you're going to top out eventually, and it appears that top is at about 35 mpg.

More recently the Japanese Kei cars of the 90's can still be obtained second hand, maybe not so easily in the US.

Some, with sports car pretensions, can actually provide a rewarding driving experience by virtue of being rear-wheel-drive, such as the Mazda AZ-1, Honda Beat or Suzuki Cappucino. 0-100 acceleration time in a single digit gives the driver something that the Smart car cannot - self-respect.

I know someone in my neighbourhood who commute in an Ariel Atom, at 500kg it's certainly about as fuel efficient as any road car. For slightly more environmental protection, get a Lotus Elise.

Farhad, that thing is a POS. C'mon, 50mpg has been around for years with the Suzuki three-cylinder.. Why don't we see them sold here again? -That would be a REAL article.

I've lived mostly in Europe (Spain) since the Cheney-Bush coronation, but moved back to the States a couple of months ago. Smarts are all over the place in Madrid and Barcelona, but nearly nonexistent outside them.

When I moved back here, I didn't even think about buying anything but a Prius. In fact, I arranged the purchase from Spain by phoning a friend at the local Urbana (IL) Toyota dealership, and picked the car up the day after I arrived. That was on May 8, and I ended up with the $28K model, with a bunch of stuff on it I never would have paid for in a normal market, but this was the last one on the lot, and it was $28K or wait until mid-July for another. All of the June delivery were already sold.

The other day, I got a call from my buddy at the dealership to find out how the Prius and I were getting along. I told him I was totally in love with the car and that I'd needed to buy gas only once since I bought it (I never drive when it's possible to walk.) and gotten 50 mpg with a 1/2 city/highway driving ratio. He told me demand was now so high that all their deliveries for the next six months are already pre-sold.

What really pisses me off about this whole deal is that the U.S. auto industry is so far behind the Japanese that I had to choose between buying $2500 of extras I didn't want or waiting over two months (now 6) for a car. But there's nothing new about our auto industry being clueless and venal. After all, most small American cities (including mine) had wonderful electric trolley systems until Henry Ford went around the country bamboozling the city fathers into selling them to him so he could tear up the tracks and scrap the rolling stock.

Now, GM's caught the hybrid bug. I saw an ad the other day for a full-sized GMC Yukon 2wd SUV hybrid boasting a most excellent 14 mpg in the city, and a whopping 21 on the highway. (ROTFL)

. . . . .

For those of us bashing Farhad: Please stop. The poor boy's review is totally in keeping with what's become of Salon, and better than a lot of what you find here. Can't help wondering how much longer Glenn Greenwald will hang around here before ditching Ms Walsh's little piece of fluff for a more serious (and more entertaining) publication.