The Smart Car Is Headed For Oklahoma

With gas prices the way they are these days, it would be a "smart" idea to have a car with good mileage. How does 60 to 70 miles per gallon sound? That high mileage is what you get in the Smart Car,

Wednesday, August 29th 2007, 5:43 pm

By: News On 6

With gas prices the way they are these days, it would be a "smart" idea to have a car with good mileage. How does 60 to 70 miles per gallon sound? That high mileage is what you get in the Smart Car, which has been grabbing headlines all over Europe. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports it won't be on sale here in the U.S. until next year, but one Tulsa owner gave us a sneak peek.

"We realized it would attract a lot of attention, but I don't think we realized how much attention," said Smart Car owner Stan McCabe.

Stan McCabe says they saw the car on a trip to Italy and bought it as sort of a company car for the MyStaf personnel office in Tulsa. And sure enough, we were in it for maybe five minutes when we were cornered by Tulsa motorist Vickie Ford.

"I can't tell you how bad I want one of those cars," she said.

The Smart Car gets its name from Swatch, the designer of the car, plus Mercedes, the manufacturer of the vehicle, plus "art," a lofty perception perhaps, but one that Ford enthusiastically agrees with.

"The design, they're zippy, they're cute, they get good gas mileage," Tulsa motorist Vickie Ford said.

With a three cylinder diesel engine, you'll never mistake it for a race car, but the acceleration is pleasant enough. And you'll be downright overjoyed at the gas pump.
"We filled up the other day. It was $12 to fill it up,â€ said McCabe. â€œIt holds about five gallons, take you about 300 miles."

Maybe it was the fact we had the top down, but it didn't feel cramped in the least.

"It feels a lot bigger inside than it does as far as looking at it from the outside, and a lot of fun to drive" said McCabe.

"We saw one in Europe a year ago, and we've been dying for one ever since," Ford said.

For a closer look at Tulsaâ€™s Smart Car visit the MyStaf website, www.mystaf.com.

Watch the video: Smart Car Cruising Through Town