The Smart Car is a small, European sporty automobile manufactured by a division of DaimlerChrysler that has been Americanized as an imported into the U. S. by ZAP (Zero Air Pollution). Currently, Zap is the one an only U. S. dealer for the Smart Car. By its looks, one would assume that the Smart Car is an electric car or at the very least, a hybrid. Neither is true.

The Smart Car runs on unleaded gasoline, though some European models use diesel. In the United Kingdom, three models of the Smart Car include the Roadster, Smart ForTwo and the Smart ForFour. The model that is being imported and Americanized to adapt to EPA and Department of Transportation (DOT) standards is the Smart ForTwo, named because it is the 2-seater version.

The U. S. Smart Car is being sold as an urban car to be driven around large metropolitan areas such as New York City and parked in tight spaces as it is about half the length of a standard automobile (just over 8 feet in length).

But, the Smart Car is also capable of achieving speeds up to 85 mph, so it is legal to drive on most highways and freeways in the U. S. as well.

If someone does not like the color scheme of their Smart Car on one day, they can change it the next. This is because the Smart Car has interchangeable side panels, which only takes 90 minutes to swap out. In addition, the Smart Car is known as an eco-friendly automobile, producing the lowest CO2 emissions in its class and 85-percent of this automobile is recyclable.

The engineers of the Smart Car had safety in mind when they built this vehicle as it's "tridion safety cell" uses an aluminum safety cage with steel reinforcements to form a spherical geometry similar to that of a racecar. Dual airbags, anti-lock brakes and a shell that distributes the impact of a crash throughout its perimeter is what helps keep the Smart Car, very smart and safe as well.

The Smart Car has been on the European roads since 1998, so the product is mature by car engineering standards. The Smart Car comes in at a cool $25,000 making it comparable to a Prius, but with that extra coolness factor. This car may not be able to park itself or talk like Kitt in Knight Rider, but as an eco-car it's smart, very smart.