philly

So the smart cars have hit the ground here in the past couple of months. I've seen at least half a dozen different smarts running around town and PhillyCarShare has 3 themselves. I think that they're outrageously expensive ($11,500 – $18,000 depending on model/options) for the amount of car it is and that they don't get great gas mileage (33mpg city) for their minuscule size. On the other hand, I think they're a move in the right direction for within-the-city transportation.

At 8'10" long and 4'11" wide, this thing is tiny. If you were to cut open an average sedan, you could hide a smart car inside it. It is quite roomy inside though – much roomier than a Mini (I don't like Minis). But there's no trunk space. Maybe enough room for 5 shopping bags. Maybe enough for 2 camera bags, but I doubt it. One thing's for sure though – it turns heads almost as quickly as a Ferrari Enzo (you can hear an Enzo several blocks away so it's a little unfair).

It also gets the attention of the PPA I guess as you can see above. Some smart owner decided to not only park perpendicularly to the curb (right on Walnut St a 1/2 block east of Rittenhouse Square where I'm sure tons of drivers were oh so happy to wait), but right next to a sign which says 'No Stopping' – not so smart eh? They got slapped with a ticket. I'm sure it's illegal to park perpendicularly to the curb no matter how golf-carty your car is. I didn't cross the street to see the damage of the ticket though or the particular infractions ticked off.

The scene above was observed April 23rd.

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