Celerity
Well-Known Member
I've been away for a few days, but done some neat shit. Pic is attached
But anyway, I met my bosses' bosses' boss , and he does lots of european finance and investments, and one of the gifts he gets are some European imports. And he has a good connection with SMART GmBh.
And he's bringing a Roadster here. He's brought a roadster here before, but had trouble moving it (No one wanted to buy it). I put in a query to see what he can do and when he can do it.
So I got inspired, and finally went to test drive the Smart 2for2. It's neat. And they are cheaper than I thought, significantly. But also hard as hell to actually GET.
I drove a hard top. The Hardtop has an available acrylic roof panel with a sunshade. Tres Chic. The cars aren't available in a manual - Only an autoclutchin... well, It's not REALLY an autoclutching sequential, it's actually a 5 profile CVT that's smaller than a motorcycle transmission. And the size and simplicity of the transmission makes it disturbingly shitty to shift. It's like driving an autotragic regular car, with all the vacuum lines mistakenly routed. It shifts too soon, then too late, and when it shifts it actually feels like a clutchless auto (if anyone here outside of me has ever driven a VW auto-stick). So it feels as though it's applying the clutch pedal, killing the throttle and then reengaging the clutch. And it takes longer to actually DO it than it took me to type it out.
But if you pretend you have a clutch, and time out your foot, it shifts quicker and smoother. The manual portion of the transmission is actuated through either the center console or through the paddles. I hate paddles, because I take cornering as a perfect opportunity to change gears to leave the apex like a watermelon seed being squeezed out of your pinched fingers.
Holy SHIT this thing corners. It corners like an old Esprit. The rear tires are wider than the front (fronts are like 6 inches, the rears are 7.5 inches) The axles and rotating assembly are really light, and the unsprung weight is pretty nil, even though you're practically sitting OVER ALL 4 WHEELS.
The US interior is different than the Euros, but it's still really nice. The gauges are responsive, the setup is intelligent and there is a metric assload of interior room for your legs.
So that's it, it was fun. Oh, I put down the reservation so I'm on the list for 2 smarts, one I may be able to get rid of the Yaris for next week and get into. I put an order for a bare bones "Pure" model for $12k. The other is a convertible, loaded for $17k.
At work, I work part-time. But they are starting to realise my abilities and may be bringing me on fulltime. I am demanding $90k. See how that turns out.
Anyway, Ciao !
But anyway, I met my bosses' bosses' boss , and he does lots of european finance and investments, and one of the gifts he gets are some European imports. And he has a good connection with SMART GmBh.
And he's bringing a Roadster here. He's brought a roadster here before, but had trouble moving it (No one wanted to buy it). I put in a query to see what he can do and when he can do it.
So I got inspired, and finally went to test drive the Smart 2for2. It's neat. And they are cheaper than I thought, significantly. But also hard as hell to actually GET.
I drove a hard top. The Hardtop has an available acrylic roof panel with a sunshade. Tres Chic. The cars aren't available in a manual - Only an autoclutchin... well, It's not REALLY an autoclutching sequential, it's actually a 5 profile CVT that's smaller than a motorcycle transmission. And the size and simplicity of the transmission makes it disturbingly shitty to shift. It's like driving an autotragic regular car, with all the vacuum lines mistakenly routed. It shifts too soon, then too late, and when it shifts it actually feels like a clutchless auto (if anyone here outside of me has ever driven a VW auto-stick). So it feels as though it's applying the clutch pedal, killing the throttle and then reengaging the clutch. And it takes longer to actually DO it than it took me to type it out.
But if you pretend you have a clutch, and time out your foot, it shifts quicker and smoother. The manual portion of the transmission is actuated through either the center console or through the paddles. I hate paddles, because I take cornering as a perfect opportunity to change gears to leave the apex like a watermelon seed being squeezed out of your pinched fingers.
Holy SHIT this thing corners. It corners like an old Esprit. The rear tires are wider than the front (fronts are like 6 inches, the rears are 7.5 inches) The axles and rotating assembly are really light, and the unsprung weight is pretty nil, even though you're practically sitting OVER ALL 4 WHEELS.
The US interior is different than the Euros, but it's still really nice. The gauges are responsive, the setup is intelligent and there is a metric assload of interior room for your legs.
So that's it, it was fun. Oh, I put down the reservation so I'm on the list for 2 smarts, one I may be able to get rid of the Yaris for next week and get into. I put an order for a bare bones "Pure" model for $12k. The other is a convertible, loaded for $17k.
At work, I work part-time. But they are starting to realise my abilities and may be bringing me on fulltime. I am demanding $90k. See how that turns out.
Anyway, Ciao !