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The Smart Blog
I drove my red with black trim Smart Car into a parking slot at Two Creek Coffee House and walked in to order my usual, a twenty ounce Latte to go when someone said, “It takes a real man to drive a car like that.”
I turned around to see a plastic surgeon I knew.
“No, it is about metrosexuality,” I said.
“Metrosexuality? What is that?” he asked.
“You know someone confident enough to wear Achille (French) socks.”
“What?”
“You know someone secure in both his Ying and Yang,” I said.
During the past month I have had many conversations about the car, enough that I think I should be given a commission by the local dealership. I have explained the niceties of the forty mile per gallon around town car, the steel cage safety structure, the costs and the ordering process over twenty times. The operative word still is “cute.”
“It is so cute,” people say and then I have to explain how I came by it etc. etc.
“Check out http://www.bonjourparis.com/admin/story/story/19662/“www.smartcarusa.com” for further information,” I tell them. By then I am tired and just want to get on with my day.
Then there are those who sidle up to you in their Suburban and give you the thumbs up sign. The four way stop is always interesting. More often than not my Smart Car is given the right of way; people just want an opportunity to stare at it longer. When I told a close friend of mine about the encounter in the coffee house he said mockingly that, “A real man would not drive a Smart car. A car is an expression of one’s manhood.”
“I am totally comfortable driving it. If it is good enough for the French it is certainly good enough for me.”
An additional benefit of driving a Smart car in Salt Lake City is the green sticker, formerly offered only to hybrid owners. It permits you to park free at any municipal meter. Those quarters can add up.
Over the next four months (our next trip to France) I should be able to save up at least $16 this way. This is worth 10.353 Euros today although who knows what the future holds. At least the Smart Car, like the euro, is here to stay.
P.S. While visiting Philadelphia this May I noticed a yellow with black trim Smart Car with the logo www,phillysmartcar.com. Perhaps The City of Brotherly Love has taken its clue from the Paris community use bikes program that has been a popular success.
