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Two-seater “micro-cars” have been popular in Europe for many years, but in North America they are virtually unheard-of. Sky-high gas prices may soon change that. They’ve already started to appear in US showrooms.
A story in the Sacramento Bee focused on a ZAP dealership selling Smart cars.
Like other micro-cars, the Smart car is so compact it can park head-on to a curb and not stick out into traffic. It boasts gas mileage that ranges from 40 to 75 mpg.
And to meet safety concerns, it's built with an internal roll cage similar to those found in NASCAR race cars, designed to protect passengers in case of a crash.
ZAP says it sells every Smart car it brings into the country, even at $25,000 each. About 280 have gone to dealers in other states, and another 350 are awaiting safety and emissions modifications for the American market. ZAP said it is currently seeking authorization from California regulators to sell the cars in this state.
Within 90 days of exhibiting a U.S.-ready Smart car at a National Automobile Dealers Association show in early 2005, ZAP said it received more than $2.2 billion in purchase orders from dealers around the country.
This photo at the top, showing the StatDaughter standing beside a parked micro-car, was taken in Burford, England, on our summer 2004 vacation. As you can see, she thought it was rather a joke; to be honest, we all thought it looked funny. But now, with the price of gas well over $1 per litre, it doesn’t look quite so funny anymore.
via Greenie Watch.
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Two words re one of those things on a Texas highway: speed bump.
That could be a problem, all right.
Texas has speed bumps on highways? Sounds treacherous.