Cars and Smart Cars

Some random thoughts. Today I heard on the news that Daimler Chrysler is planning to bring the Smart Car to the USA in about two years.
To Americans, EuropeanCars look like toys. Some are electric, like golf carts, there are even electric trucks. Service vehicles are small too. We saw delivery trucks, garbage trucks and even a phone company truck--all tiny by US standards. Now in the US, people would laugh at trucks like that. To us, they are too small, but they seem to function just fine over there. Passenger cars are about the size of mini Coopers. I saw the Fiat, Renault, Citroen, all the European brands except for the Volvo. We saw Volvo dealers in Venice, but no Volvo cars. Not only do the cars look like toys, they also sound like toys. They whine. A car that is considered small here, like a VW Golf or a BMW, looks pretty large in Europe. The Mercedes is the status vehicle in Italy. All the private drivers for the cruise people seem to drive the Mercedes.
The amazing thing about the little cars is that they seat 4 passengers. In Rome, I actually say 4 adults sitting in one of these cars--two in front and two in back. You rarely see a van or SUV.
Some of the cars seat only two people, some only one.
I saw quite a few of the Smart Car by Mercedes. This car looks great, and seats two. It can fit into about half a parking space.
Space is at a premium in these old cities. Most of the places we visited didn't even allow cars in the central city--Rome, Florence, Taormina, Capri and Dubrovnik. The streets are so narrow, since they are medieval--or older cities. Only service vehicles are allowed in these towns--most of these are electric cars.
Gas is about$6 a gallon, but it is sold by the liter here--so the little cars make sense.
The funniest thing is that most Americans wouldn't drive cars like the ones that people drive in Europe. Can you imagine trading a Ford Explorer or a Hummer for a Smart Car? Someday we may have to, but people will fight it.
I have included two pictures--one of the phone company truck in Sicily and one of the Smart Car by Mercedes.