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If this were a Star Wars saga, it could be titled “The Empire Gets Struck Back.”
Whether you point a finger at oil empires, the shrinking dollar, or foreign wars, high gas prices are putting a pinch on just about everyone.
One Orangeburg woman is fighting back with her own Jedi starfighter. It’s called a SMART car, a very different vehicle released in the United States this year that at 9 feet long is claimed to be the smallest production car in this country.
“I like small vehicles,” says owner Andy Bidwell. “Gas mileage? It gets 40-ish.”
In late March, Bidwell took possession of her “fortwo,” the name applied to the diminutive two-seater, giving her a strong claim to having the first in the Orangeburg area.
With a top speed of 90 mph, the vehicle may look like a loose roller skate on the freeway. But the fortwo comes with an anti-roll bar and a disc/drum brake combination to check the 1.0-liter engine, which puts out its peak 70 horsepower at 5,800 rpms.
Bidwell says interstate traffic, even the sometimes hair-raising wind tunnels created by big rig trucks, is no problem.
With an engine comparable to that of the average motorcycle, it may not light up Lowe’s Motor Speedway or Darlington’s Lady in Black. But “the Lady in Blue” (or optional black, yellow or white) does command a respectable 0-60 mph in 12.8 seconds.
And speaking of colors, if the color you choose doesn’t suit you next year? Simply change it.
“You can order the (body) panels for like a thousand dollars,” Bidwell said. “And then I think labor is another $200.”
There are also removable roof panels on a Cabriolet model.
After more than a decade of tooling about in Europe, the Smart car was introduced to the U.S. during a car show in New York City in January, the same month the vehicles went on sale here.
Originally a Mercedes-Benz and Swatch collaboration in the early 1990s, the cars today are solely owned and produced by Daimler-Benz.
Worldwide, there are about 900,000 Smart cars on the road in 37 countries, according to the company Web site.
It was these early European ancestors of the fortwo that Bidwell initially came in contact with during a military stay in Germany.
Comparing the two, the computer technician says the American version gained a lot of weight coming across the ocean and lost fuel mileage as a result.
“This is a lot bigger,” Bidwell laments about her American version. “The European (cousins) get 60, 70 miles a gallon.”
With the heavier version, there is a trade-off. The American version does come with a parcel shelf behind the two seats that is lacking on its Euro-relatives.
“I can put two 50-pound bags of dog food back there,” Bidwell said.
But having the ability to tote around the high school football team isn’t quite the point of a vehicle apparently built for practicality and economy.
It’s not for everyone, perhaps, but for those wanting to take a swipe at Big Oil, it’ll cost you in the neighborhood of $16,000.
At today’s prices, the 8 gallons to fill up costs Bidwell right at $35 per tank, if bone dry. Does she mind taking the fight back to the Empire?
“No!” she says emphatically. “They will continue to make lots of money until their oil fields are gone.”
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516.