There it is. That tiny little two seater from Europe that looks like it doesn’t belong on American roads. The Smart Car. Maybe you’re behind it in traffic. Or maybe you come across one in a parking lot and you swing by to take a closer look.  Here’s a few things to keep in mind when you see one.

If you see us, don’t hesitate to talk to us

Let’s face it, we’re proud of our little car. We like knowing that we’re driving something unique, whether it’s for the size, the gas mileage, or even just because it’s darn cute. The Smart Car today has the same kind of growing cult-like following that the old air-cooled Volkswagen Beetles had (and still has). Unless we’re in a dreadful rush we’re usually thrilled that someone has taken an interest in our car and are happy to talk your ear off about it.

Take Pictures

Again, we’re proud of our little car. So please, take some pictures of it. However, if you can, stay out of our blind spots if you’re doing this on the road. If we’re in a parking lot, feel free to pose with our car. 

We’re not bad at shifting gears

Seriously, we’re not shoddy drivers. It’s the transmission. The Smart Car has an automated manual transmission, which means that we drive it like an automatic, but it has a clutch and uses rev-matching to change gears. So when we take off from a stop light you’ll see the car rock a little as it goes from first to second. Sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re not trying to shift funny to tick you off, we’re just driving our unique car and letting it do all the work for us.

Don’t expect instant acceleration

We’ve got a little three cylinder engine in the back. It’s coupled with an automated manual transmission. The car is designed for efficiency. We’re not going to run the quarter mile in under 10 seconds. Besides, many of us bought the car for the hybrid efficiency with half the price, so we’re going to be a little light on the gas pedal.

Stay out of our blind spots

We may be tiny, but we still have blind spots in the rear quarters of the car just like anyone else does. They’re actually a little worse as we can’t really turn around to look since there’s no window where the spots are. Besides, we promise to try and stay out of yours…

Go on ahead, stare. Laugh even.

Yes, it really is a street legal car. Yes, it’s only 108 inches long. It really is as big as an old Volkswagen Beetle with it’s nose chopped off. And yes, many of us driving really are full sized adults who comfortably fit inside. So stare at us all you want. Feel free to even laugh a little if we look silly. We won’t mind. Chances are, we’ll laugh along with you.

Save the wave

As for all you other Smart Car owners out there, wave at each other! Give a little toot on your horn (if it’s acceptable) to say hi as your fellow Smart owner passes the other direction. Corvette owners wave at each other because they feel they own the only true American sports car. Harley riders wave at each other to recognize that they belong to a unique club of motorcycle owners. Volkswagen air-cooled owners wave at each other knowing that they’ve got the most unique engine and popular vehicle out there. So Smart owners unite and save the wave for each other! We all have membership in a very exclusive club with a really neat little car.