Small and Smart
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Originally published 01:23 p.m., March 6, 2008
Updated 01:23 p.m., March 6, 2008
Photo by Carly Pearson
The Rascon family show off their new Smart Car. They are, from left, Alfonso Gabriel, 2 1/2, Alfonso, Lourdes Fernanda, 8 months, and Lula.
After about a year of waiting, Alfonso and Lula Rascon brought home their new “baby” — a 2008 Smart Car Fortwo Passion that they’d had a passion for for years.
Although the car is popular in Europe, Mexico and Canada, not many have been sold yet in Kansas. It is the first of its kind in Emporia, they said.
Alfonso had suggested purchasing one of the two-seater cars to drive away in from their wedding, but Lula discouraged that because she feared the little car wouldn’t accommodate her wedding dress.
But on their honeymoon in Paris, their fascination with the car built. They saw Smart Car after Smart Car and Lula said that her husband took photos of most of them.
Finally, in early 2007, the couple decided it was time to make a purchase.
They reserved the car online on the first day the online purchase program became available; they sent in their $99 deposit and even went to Kansas City for an opportunity to test drive their dream car.
Photo by Carly Pearson
Alfonso Gabriel, taking a turn sitting behind the wheel, loves the family’s new car.
“We stand in line for two hours,” Alfonso said, “and then we drove it for six minutes.”
In November an e-mail came, asking them to choose the car’s colors. They chose silver with grey interior. Later, because many of the car’s body parts are removable, they will be able to change colors if they choose. A safety feature similar to a roll bar is about the only body part that cannot be changed. The bar runs from the bottom of the door, across the top and down the other side in a shapely swoosh.
Web sites such as www.usa.smart.com and www.smartcarfortwo.com reported information on other safety features. The car is said to be built to pass United States crash tests, and front and side airbags are standard. The steering column collapses if a serious front-end collision occurs.
The Rascons’ Fortwo, at a cost of $14,635, came with automatic transmission that can be switched to manual, power locks and windows, air conditioning, panoramic sunroof and radio. Its ignition sits on the console, and accelerating can be done in three ways — with a foot feed, on the leather-covered steering wheel, or on the shifter on the console.
The 3-cylinder engine sits in the back of the car, below a surprisingly roomy trunk area, and the essential fluids and a few other parts are located under the hood.
The Fortwo comes not with a spare tire, but with a repair kit that inserts a gel inside the tire to seal a puncture.
Photo by Carly Pearson
The Smart Car has interchangeable panels that can be switched to change the color of the vehicle.
The Rascons were satisfied that the car would be safe for highway driving.
On Jan. 21, the Fortwo arrived in Kansas City and the couple made arrangements to pick it up on Saturday, Jan. 26. The timing could not have been worse.
On Friday, Jan. 25, Tyson Foods announced it would close its slaughter operation in Emporia, as well as its second shift on the processing side. For a time, neither Rascon knew whether either had a job. Alfonso called the dealership.
“Can you hold it for a while?” he recalled asking. “I’m not sure I’m going to have a job.”
Alfonso eventually was told he was being retained, but Lula’s job was eliminated. She quickly found work at Burger King, and the pair picked up the car on Feb. 26 at Aristocrat Motors in Merriam.
“Today, if you reserve one, the waiting time could be as long as 18 months,” he said. “I read in the Smart Car forum that somebody reserved his car last December and he would get it in mid-2009.”
The car presented a small problem for the Rascons’ insurance agent, who was willing to insure it but needed a few days to find pricing for them to pay for the policy, they said.
So far, the Rascons have been delighted with their purchase. Alfonso likes the fuel economy and the unique look that causes people to turn their heads when it passes by. Lula enjoys the convenience of parking anywhere. Sometimes they pull their Dodge Durango into the carport as far as it will go, and park the Fortwo behind it.
With 450 miles on the odometer, the Smart Car is averaging 38 miles per gallon and uses premium gasoline, Alfonso said.
“”I’ve gotten it to 85 (miles per hour),” he said.
“He didn’t even notice,” Lula began, and Alfonso interjected, “’Til I saw the speedometer.”
They’ve taken trips out of town and use the Fortwo as a work car, with Lula driving to her job in the morning and returning in time for Alfonso to take it to Tyson in the afternoon.
Space does become an issue when the couple and their two children — Alfonso Gabriel, 2 1/2, and Lourdes Fernanda, 8 months — need to travel together.
“We drive the Durango,” Lula said.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by AlexJohnston (anonymous) on March 6, 2008 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations! Cute little car. I looked at that car when researching a replacement for my current heap of a car :) The smart4two was just a bit too small for my likes.
I am waiting for the Aptera (begins production in CA oct 2008)
www.aptera.com
Posted by jaredfromsubway (anonymous) on March 6, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice car until someone in a Ford Edge plows you over for not driving an American car.
Posted by rmbcollege (anonymous) on March 6, 2008 at 5:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was in love with these little cute cars when I took a trip to Europe. I still think they are cute.
Posted by BlueKansan (anonymous) on March 7, 2008 at 7:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hmm... a whole 38 MPG? And it seats two?? My Prius gets 50 MGP on a regular basis and seats five...
Posted by mythoughts (anonymous) on March 7, 2008 at 8:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
cute, cute cute!! love it!
Posted by anonomom (anonymous) on March 7, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
but how much does your prius cost?
Posted by alsrac (anonymous) on March 8, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BlueKansan: Just remember that your Pruis is a hybrid and my Smart is a regular engine car, for your information there is another Smart just available in Europe called the CDi and gets 71 mpg.
Posted by Hillbilly (anonymous) on March 8, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
drove by burger king today and saw it in the parking lot. 38 miles per gallon means nothing when that car is involved in a headon crash or even a small crash, Dont tell me how safe the dealer told you it is, sure its safe sitting in the lot. and please dont tell me the goverment said its safe, COMMON SENSE people and these people care enough about their kids to haul them in this death trap.
and for the rest of you save it for someone else I dont need you to tell me about how effecient it is and how I dont care about saving the world. I do, but I care about life also and killing someone just to save a few cents per gallon is not my way of protecting my family OR YOURS.
Posted by emporian (anonymous) on March 8, 2008 at 6:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they are in that car and involved in an accident it will be a bad one. They may be safe when they are up against all of those other little cars, but against an SUV, Pickup, Or larger car it will be a tragedy.
Also, my car will do almost that good in gas mileage and I paid $1600 for it. It also doesn't need premium fuel. It will run on the regular stuff.
Posted by alsrac (anonymous) on March 11, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hillbilly and emporian: Before posting, you should do some reasearch about the car's safety features.
Posted by CAFEmporia (anonymous) on March 11, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with alsrac that the Smart car is safer than one would assume by simply looking at it. Check the available information. When we were in Europe, we saw a ton of them and their reputation is very high there. When I saw them out west, in Wyoming and Montana where they had been driven down from Canada, the owners' consensus was that they are a safe vehicle.
Consider that a Nascar vehicle can slam into a wall at 200 mph and the driver walks away from the wreck. I'm not suggesting that these are the same, but I think they are demonstrably reasonable for the streets.
Posted by Hillbilly (anonymous) on March 11, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
alsrac, so glad you feel safe in your little car. enjoy it and be careful. I will pray for your children every time I see you driving it. have a great day
Posted by alsrac (anonymous) on March 11, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hillbilly, if you've read the whole story you'll know that we use the car as a work car, if we need to take the children with us we drive our huge gas guzzler Durango. Anyway, thanks for the prayers, everybody needs them. And you too, have a nuce day.
Posted by Weltha (anonymous) on March 11, 2008 at 3:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Read the article again. It states that the car is only a 2 seater. They use the Durango for family outtings.
Posted by techson (anonymous) on May 1, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Between catching opposing direction headwinds and enduring golf cart size dimensions clearly the hype and not the brain is powering "smart" sales. The US version is very underwhelming at 38 mpg and 14K with air. I bought a clean 97 civic LX for 3500 and it gets 34 mpg and is comfortable for FOUR adults and their stuff. Show me 50 mpg and 10K with air and then I'll get interested.
Posted by TacoBellB (anonymous) on May 2, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Poor Jaredfromsubway - anorexia has made him a very unhappy person. How about a Big Mac or perhaps you should think outside the bun!
I would guess people in any car would get run over because they drive too slow!
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)