Not true, they *are* available in Canada. I've been seeing them around the Toronto area for a number of months...

Ah, but not the AMERICANized version. Although a few have been imported to the US before, they've been as exceptions to current regulations. The American version will be registered with ZAP and the DOT to ensure they continue to meet our regulations. So yeah. Details, details...

you've just parroted an old Press Release. There is absolutely no way they will sell any of these for less than $25K ZAP "wholesales" them for around $20K to their "dealers" and their Registered Importer than converts them is ONLY allowed to convert the "PASSION" model (read: high end) and even then they are not "new" cars, as far as I know, they are purchased USED in Europe and then converted and resold. ZAP also got approval for this LAST MAY after years and years of Press Releases and then they delivered maybe 10 cars. What happened to the rest of the cars? They said they had 100 "ready to go" in a warehouse. They only JUST released 80+ cars to their "dealers" now. Or...so their Press Release says. Ask ZAP for a list of their "dealers". Good Luck. and if you manage to find one to buy, you can't register it in California or New York (among other states). caveat emptor

Your correct the cars, if not older models will be well over $25,000. The cost to convert is around $7,500. SCOA

Smart Car of America has absolutely nothing to do with Smarts or Daimler/Chrysler. Its some guy in Florida with too much time on his hands selling "waiting lists" to people desperate to get one. All the images and logos are ripped from the official Smart website and its laid out to "appear" to be some sort of slick official Smart Source. Its not. lotsa talk though.

Smart Car of America has been involved in the Smart car venture since 1999, virtually the same time the very first smart rolled off the assembly line, at the "Smartville" plant in Hambach, France. And considerably longer than the majority of companies and web sites that are involved currently! Smart Car of America has made every effort possible to supply North America with timely information concerning the Smart and alternative vehicles. We have never made erroneous claims about the status of the cars We have never provided flawed data concerning conversion approvals We have never misinformed anyone concerning availability We have never solicited funds on vehicles we could not deliver We have never misrepresented our contractual obligations regarding the Smart And we never will. Smart Car of America is not and has not stated, to be directly importing the Smart, at this time or have any agreement with anyone to have the cars converted. An Independent Commercial Importer is the only entity licensed to convert and modify the Smart For-Two. And if you read on the bottom of every page it states& Smart Cars of America, LLC has no formal or informal association or agreements with DaimlerChrysler Corp, Mercedes Benz, Zap, smart car GmbH, Smart-Automobile LLC, smart-usa, Mercedes USA. Smarts Cars of America, llc (dba smartcarofamerica.com) is not affiliated with, or authorized by, smart gmbh, the manufacturer of SMART automobiles, or the smartUSA division of Mercedes-Benz LLC, the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of those new vehicles

Wow what a head turner it is. I love the little smart passion. The only real downside is the insurance companies are rippin us off on the rates for these little gems. I just got quoted $2800.00 for a years prem. from Nation Wide insurance. I have three other cars insured with them and all three of those cars are not much more in premimum in total as compared to the smart. I dont know if I would have bought the smart if I realized I would feel so dumb once hearing the insurance rate. I can assure you I will be shopping around for a better rate other then Nation Wide insurance.

I work for Mountain View Motors in Loveland, CO. We are currently taking orders for Smart cars. We are not affiliated with Zap, we are an alternative to dealing with Zap and their promises. We have a Smart available for demonstration and have been given a ship date of March 21 for our first 10 cars so we will be able to deliver cars within three weeks. We will have a booth at the Denver Auto Show starting March 29th and running to April 2nd. Call me at 970-663-2200 for more information.

The answer is easy! So you dont have a government agency confiscate your vehicle and poor your hard earned money down the drain trying to get something you cant have by a legal means.....its actually possible that a criminal activity may also be part of the mix (for any of you that care about that sort of thing) "The charges are felonies that carry a fine of as much as $5,000 and a prison sentence ranging from one to 10 years." Source: Smart Car of America http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/smartz.php

As long as you have a car with the correct DOT stickers and the DOT letter of clearance no one will confiscate your Smart that you purchased at Mountain View Motors. You need to keep in mind that the only cars that can be driven in to the US are from Canada and they are diesel. Any other Smart that is imported must go to a bonded warehouse then must be picked up by an authorized converter.

Thanks to the determination and enthusiasm of few honest and real companies, we are all one step closer in the quest for the Smart. An (ICI)Independent Commercial Importer; are the modifiers of legally converted versions of the Smart For-Two. An Independent Commercial Importer, is the only entity licensed to convert and modify the Smart For-Two. The Smart car has made its way to Loveland, CO., making it the second city, along with St Louis, MO in the United States to have them. These cars will have been modified by the Independent Commercial Importer and will be completely legal and road ready!!! Source: Smart Car of America http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/readmore.php

60 MPG is great, but no amout of airbags will save you from being hit and rolling under one of those durn SUVs. And why do they need to go 85 MPH? A 20 mile total range for grocery duty on safe (relatively) city streets would be fine. A plug in and some solar panels integrated into the body with a really low price tag and a top speed (dash mode) of 45 would be perfect for me. No fuel cell or traditional engine at all, so less cost and way cheaper insurance rates. I drive 1.5 miles each way to get groceries and a third car for that purpose only would not strain my budget or parking.

I think the Smart Car of America Guys are probably pretty good guys. Based on what I see on there website, I don't think that they would support anything illegal or shady knowingly so I would give them the benefit of the doubt at the moment. With that said contact has been made with Mountain View Motors guys, the Slicka Corp &.oops I mean Silica Corp. the St Louis guys and the G & K Auto guys. I can tell you that no one in this trio has the same story. G & K swears that none of these guys is getting a legal car from them. Based I what research I have done G & K is the only one that can legally do it. So what does that leave us with? Mountain View has partial converted cars (what is that like almost pregnant?) The other is not even a smooth talking opportunist working out of the back of his house with rather peculiar things going on in the background that don't leave you with any piece of mind what so ever. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know something smells really bad. All I have to say is do your own due diligence very carefully if you chose to do business with this group. As for Smart Car of America...you can be known a sheep herder for your and entire life&. but once you sleep with one of those sheep....well you know the rest of the story.... If anyone out there has put money down with this group please let me know....I have bridges and swap land available in some of the best locations....

I do not believe that you have made contact with Mountain View Motors. No one here would tell anyone that we have partially converted cars because that is not the fact. There are only two of us here so I know you did not talk to me. If you spoke to the other gentleman then tell us his name. I have held in my hand, the US Department of Transportation releases for Smart cars that are part of our inventory. I understand that there has been a lot of mis-information about the Smart but believe me there is no scam with Mountain View Motors. I can obviously not speak on behalf of anyone at G&K but there are business relationships that need to protected I am sure.

Well lets see&.. you have announced it on CBS " Hunt's new batch of cars are only demo. He bought them in Europe and had them slightly modified to be legal in the U.S." Source: http://cbs4denver.com/consumer/local_story_055010132.html Again like saying like you are slightly pregnant. Of course anyone out there can call G & K who openly admits that they did in fact do a few modifications to the cars from Mountain View Motors but they will not be doing anymore and the cars were removed before they were even slightly close to being legal. Anyone reading this doesn't have to take my opinion. I was simply doing my own due diligence to get a legal smart car. I recommend for anyone to call G & K or the EPA &..no one from Moutain View has a legal car nor will they get one from the only legal source I have been able to find. &&.I think the air must be thin up there&&& Again people due your own due dilligence its easy to find out the truth&..I am not sure what there game is but its not a legal one that is for sure&..They must just like to get on TV

Over the past six years there has been much anticipation and a good deal of frustration concerning the Smart's entrance to the United States and it's availability for the American public. Due to the determination and enthusiasm of various groups and individuals the quest for the Smart can now be realized. Smart Car of America is not directly importing the Smart and at this time have no agreement with anyone to have the cars converted. However, the highly sought after Smart car is at long last available. Truth is stranger than fiction, and publicity is stranger than both of them. I can assure you Mountain View Motors is a car dealership headquartered in Loveland, Colorado and has begun the process to import the Smart Car into the United States by sealing a relationship with a government approved Independent Commercial Importer for Smart Cars. The cars comply with all government agencies, they meet all official procedures regarding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard and come with all Certification & Compliance documentation. http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/readmore.php

You mean to tell me that the EPA and the DOT would endorse a group that has illegal cars on hand??? I don't think so. Can you tell me the cars that the cars that Mountain View Motor has can be sold legally today? Of course we all know that wouldn't be true so what kind of BS are you guys dishing out. I think you guys are really trying to make a Mountain out of Mole Hill&&.I believe after this debacle you may want to consider changing your name to Mole Hill Motors&&..sheese&&

I would check if that thing follows all required regulations for in ground burial, as it might be rather hard to separate one's body from the rest of the wreck in the case of an accident.

Gearlog received an e-mail from Bettina Singhartinger, who is in charge of economic press relations for smart gmbh / DaimlerChrysler. "Thanks for taking the time to check with us. As stated correctly by your 'comments', neither DaimlerChrysler nor smart are in any business relation with ZAP. Therefore I can also not comment on any of ZAP's plans to distribute Americanized smart fortwo. smart has originally designed the smart fortwo for the European Market (where it was launched in 1998) but is designing the successor of the smart fortwo (to be introduced in Europe in 2007) in a way that it could be launched and registered also in the US. We are therefore currently evaluating whether we will introduce next generation smart vehicles in the US and are expecting a decision within the next couple of weeks (still to be decided e.g. dealer network)."

This is a good conversation, but what's with all the hype about these Americanized gas versions of the Smart? I mean it is still a cool design and all, but why not go for the gusto and get a real fuel efficient vehicle in the diesel model sold directly from Mercedes dealers in Canada? Road tests have shown 100 + mpg, which is phenomenal, but what should be expected when we get away from American standards. Yeah the 60mpg from a gasoline engine is great and worthy of mention, but that's also coming from the perspective of American vehicles averaging somewhere in the 25-35mpg range. I've heard the complaint that the Canada Smart won't pass emissions tests because it's a diesel. First of all, I think it's such a small diesel that I find that hard to believe and secondly if that claim is true - then why not run it on biodiesel like you should be anyway? I presume that the Smart running on biodiesel would pass any emissions testing thrown at it, including California and New York (but maybe they aren't admitting any diesels whatsoever, I don't know). In conclusion, I think the United States is dumbing down the consumers by not allowing this product to flood our markets. I've written my Congressmen about this dilemma and also about NHSTA standards. Have you? And on one final note, I have also read that Canada's highway standards are higher not to mention Europe's than the US. This claim I read mainly mentioned the headlights and that you have to switch them out for some US standard headlights that are actually worse than the OEM. My only question and hold back is what will actually happen if I were to fly to Canada, purchase a diesel Smart, and drive it back to the US? 1.) Tariffs? 2.) Licensing issues with my local DMV? 3.) Title? 4.) Purchasing plates from the county? If I were to take on this venture I'd like some assurances. Here are some links to support my above claims: Smart Canada: http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?ID=4720 100mpg: http://100mpg.ca/?cat=1 Biodiesel = minimal emissions: http://www.grassolean.com/index.html?textFile=emissions Cheers, dereko

Reportedly, the Smart diesel is selling for: starting at C$16,700 for the basic model (pure) http://www.clubsmartcar.ca/minifaq.php According to Google, $16,700 Canadian dollars = $14,306.5226 U.S. dollars How can these American companies legitimately be selling a $14,300 car for $25,000??? That's highway robbery, people. No way in hell it costs anywhere near $11,000 to "Americanize" the Smart. I guess this just serves to prove another case of capitalism at its best. Good luck! -dereko

Our government needs to realize that if it works in Europe and Canada, then it will work here. However, a Smart car driver must be careful not to get run over and squashed by American road ragers who are uneducated drivers (Europeans train 6 months in driving school, fahrschule, to get drivers license) in their large hulkin SUV's and trucks as many Americans are so filthy rich that they can still afford to drive large vehicles while many other Americans, particularly young adults, cannot afford to drive a car at all, keeping them behind the 8 ball too far from achieving the American dream of living independent. Being able to have a car in the US determines if your a "have" or "have not" in America as public transportation is 2nd class or non-existent and having an affordable car means access to career opportunities. Many of us today just out of college or high school don't have access to credit nor the income to buy car, afford gas and insurance, and drive since good paying career opportunities seem to be quite elusive as compared to what previous generation had available, where $8/hour jobs are worked due to desparation and few options. An affordable $14,000 new Smart car that gets 60 miles to the gallon would sure help America's young adults get ahead (if only the insurance was not so damned high!) of the financial 8 ball. Politics of America is keeping the low income, poor and the rich to get richer. Its the bottom line behind automobile regulations and the public policy of this land in all regards. We will never be as efficient and smart as Europe and Canada despite that a few of us individual Americans seek to be after learning so much from traveling in other lands like Germany. Europe is smart, lean, and highly efficeint while keeping it's classic character. We should look and learn what the Germans are doing in many regards to do how its all done in a smarter way when it comes to automobiles, law, road systems, financial systems, business management, technolgoy, and public policy rather than making all these stupid guesses and getting it all wrong like the way I see happening in the USA. This car is a typical Euro styled car you would see in Europe; I saw it in 1998 on display in Friedberg, Germany on a Saturday morning at the castle market place and another time in Frankfurt in the Hauptwasche market place. It made me think that the age of the Jetsons is here; made me feel like the 21st century would be a very promising time of wealth to live through obtaining efficiency through eocnomies of scale. :)

Picked up my Blue Passion Saturday. Drove it over a high, ice covered, fog encased pass at night. No problem. Drove it at speeds exceeding 80 mph through desert, over more mountains and to it's new home. No problem. Did I pay more than I should? Probably. Was it the most fun I have ever had in a car? Absolutely. I will admit to driving very defensively. Accident survivability is relative. You should have seen what a semi did to my Ford Expedition. Eat your hearts out boys.