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E-mail StoryMan 'smarts' over new fuel-efficient car
| Wednesday, Jul 2 2008 11:18 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Jul 3 2008 7:27 AM
The ladies grin. Others scramble to snap a picture with their cell phone. And a crew of oil field workers once gave it the middle finger.
smart fortwo (2008 coupe)
The smart car has been sold worldwide for decades but made its American debut this year and sold out the first year of production.
Orders for 2009 models can be reserved online for $99. Diesel engine and hybrid models are available in other countries but there’s been no formal announcement as to when they will be available in the United States.
Costs: from $11,590
MPG: 36 combined (33 city/41 highway)
Cost to drive 25 Miles: $2.99
Toyota Prius (2008)
The most popular green vehicle on the market. More than 30,000 were sold in 2007, putting the popularity of this hybrid on par with mainstream sedans.
Costs: from $21,500
MPG: 46 combined (48 city/45 highway)
Cost to drive 25 miles: $2.22
Toyota Yaris (2008)
Cost: from $11,550
MPG: 31 combined (29 city/35 highway)
Cost to drive 25 miles: $3.29
Kia Rio (2008)
Costs: from $10,890
MPG: 29 combined (25 city/35 highway)
Cost to drive 25 miles: $3.52
GEM (Global Electric Motorcars)
The vehicles come in six models ranging from two- to six-seaters. The batteries charge by connecting the GEM to a 110-volt outlet. A full recharge takes six to eight hours.
Costs: from $6,795
Top speed: 25 miles per hour
Range: Up to 30 miles on a charge
Cost to drive 25 miles: not available
Tesla
The Silicon Valley start-up has developed a battery-electric, two-seat sports car.
Costs: from $109,000
Range: 250 miles
Sales: 600 sold orders, four made
Cost to drive 25 miles: not available
Sources: Fueleconomy.gov; Edmunds.com; Gemcar.com; Global Insight
Photos:
Rick Masters shows off two of his energy efficient vehicles, which he purchased in advance of the recent spike in gasoline prices. The vehicles may be very difficult to obtain now. The smart car is at left and the GEM is at right.
Those are the reactions Bakersfield resident Rick Masters frequently gets to his new smart fortwo, the European micro-car that made its American debut earlier this year. (The company has shunned capital letters in its name.)
“Gas stations are the worst,” said Masters, 58.“I can’t gas it up without having two or three people come up and ask me about it.”
The smart car is the newest piece of automotive eye-candy to hit the streets, and next to the monster trucks popular around Bakersfield, the 8-foot-long, two-seater is practically the size of a Tootsie Roll.
Mercedes-Benz, along with Swiss watchmaker Swatch, developed the model more than a decade ago and it’s being sold in the United States through a deal with racing mogul Robert Penske’s dealership group.
Already, the first year’s production of 20,000 has sold out in the United States; several have been spotted zipping around Bakersfield.
At 6-feet tall, Masters fits comfortably in the driver’s seat. (His German shepherd Mona even fits in the back). And averaging about 36 miles to the gallon — Masters says he can get 50 with the air conditioning off — the car gets him where he needs to go for a lot less.
“Think about it. If people go anywhere, even to buy a quart of milk, they drag 2,000 pounds of steel with them,” Masters said.
“That’s stupid.”
But Masters doesn’t use the smart car for errands around town. For that, he uses his second vehicle, a sort of glorified, battery-powered golf cart, called a GEM, that goes 25 miles per hour and recharges from an electrical outlet.
Masters estimates it costs about 2 cents in electricity to make the 1.5-mile round trip to Longs Drugs in the GEM.
The smart car is reserved for longer trips.
He calls the two vehicles the perfect “urban complementary duo.”
“This is what anyone should have in their garage if they want to save money,” he said.
Masters bought his smart car from a dealership in Riverside and paid a little more than $13,000. He reserved it online last year and picked it up in February.
The closest smart car dealerships to Bakersfield are in the Los Angeles area and Santa Barbara.
The smart can easily do 90 miles per hour, Masters said, but he usually doesn’t go much above 70 because he’s still cautious of high speeds in a tiny vehicle. However, the smart car received good safety ratings because its chassis is essentially a steel cage and the interior contains front and side air bags.
Masters, a former truck driver, is a sort of high-mileage vehicle buff. He said his interest in electric, hydrogen and super-efficient vehicles evolved from an interest in hot-rods in the late-1960s and having lived through the 1970s energy crisis.
“I don’t want to get caught in the catastrophe,” he says, referring to mounting beliefs that oil prices will continue to climb, driving up the cost of everything from gasoline to food and creating hardships for those with long commutes or who live far from populated areas.
That concern has already driven up consumer demand for better fuel economy and smaller vehicles, according to auto industry analysts. Toyota’s Prius is considered the most “mainstream” green vehicle on the market and the smart car’s great American start shows promise. But some doubt the smart will remain popular in the American market.
Novelty has been the smart car’s biggest appeal, according to Aaron Bragman, an automotive research analyst with Global Insight, an international economic forecasting firm.
“It's almost being viewed as a toy. It's a second or third vehicle for people,” Bragman said. “From a personal finance standpoint, it almost doesn't make sense. What you get for your money and the performance it gives you, it’s really not that good.”
He points out the smart car sells for $12,000 to $18,000 but only seats two and has limited cargo space. By contrast, the Toyota Yaris and the Kia Rio sell at about the same price but can seat up to five, get almost the same gas mileage and have more cargo room.
The Yaris “is a real car and it’s much more useful for people in everyday situations,” Bragman said.
But smart car owners are a proud breed. Masters insists: “This is the most practical of all the small cars.”