Smart Roadster Coupe

   I know.  Roadster Coupe is a contradiction in terms.  And then it's called smart.  It makes no sense.  At least on paper, it doesn't.  Especially since its engine is not even 700cc, and it has the body of a sports car.  My Uncle has a bike with a bigger engine than that.  How could a car possibly hope to be sporty in the least with an engine that size?
   Well, the car has a few things going for it.  It is light weight.  Very light.  And when you sit down in the car, you are quite low.  And it is a convertible, so you can ride around without the roof.  When you put these three things together, what you get is fun.
   I got to ride in one of these cars a few days ago with my Uncle.  I got in and away we went.  Even up to twenty or thirty miles an hour, the acceleration felt fast.  I felt like we were doing sixty, when in reality we were only doing twenty.  By comparison, the van/shuttle that brought me home from the airport last night felt like it was doing twenty even when it was doing sixty.
   And then it would turn.  And OH would it turn!  The grip was sensational!  Again, this is a clear benefit of the car being light weight.  The lighter a car, the better it can turn, and the faster it can go while turning.  I could feel myself being pushed around from left to right, and it felt fun.
   And then we reached a stretch of road where England's national speed limits applied.  And on that road, that meant 70.  So we went seventy.  Thank god I left my hat back at the hotel.  I would have lost it in the wind if I'd been wearing it.  There is a certain rush of acceleration that you feel in an airplane when they go from zero to a couple hundred miles an hour in only a few seconds.  I think this acceleration is matched by riding up to seventy while you sit a matter of centimeters from the road in a tiny little convertible.

   I don't think I've ever seen one of these cars here in the states, but Smart, if you're listening, I would love to see one state-side.  If I did, and I had my license and enough money, you could believe that I would buy it like THAT!  Something tells me that you can't get the same feelings from the generic Smart Fortwo, or as most of the world refers to it, a Smart Car.