…because I actually adopted an orphan!

Yes, most people who know me know that I dislike children. So then, naturally I should turn my nose up if someone offered me an orphan to take care of. Well, not this time! Yesterday at 2pm, I got a call from Winston Salem saying that an orphan came in that met my criteria. It was yellow and black Passion Coupe (now discontinued) and had the comfort package. Well, I had to make a decision on the spot, and I slapped down $250 over the phone to hold the car until I could make payment arrangements. Well, I took off of work early, headed on over to the bank and got my loan (forcing them to work about 45 minutes past closing time). Got the loan, drove up to Winston Salem and picked up the new addition to the family! I have to say, it drives better than I remember and didn’t have any problems driving 85mph down the highway to get back. I’m in love. That’s all there is to it.

Now, I have to come up with a name for my baby. Anyone have good ideas?

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Yup, that’s right, another month closer to my mini-mobile. I still need to come up with a good name for it. If anyone has thoughts, feel free to express them in the comments.

Anyway, I passed up my chance twice at having a smart car sooner. There was an orphan at the Charlotte dealership on Friday, but it was missing the comfort package that I like. Then Monday of this week, I got a call from Winston Salem stating they had one, but it was the blue one which I can’t stand at all.

So, on with the waiting!

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…plus I need help in selecting a color.

With the introduction of the 2009 models of the smart car, they have eliminated the yellow color that I so loved. I could buy the side panels for about $900, but I think that money could best be spent elsewhere. So, I provide the following three body colors with one tridion cell color change on one. I’ll go ahead and give my concerns with all the colors in an effort to sway you my way of thinking! The first option is the candy red option. I was leaning that way at first, but then started thinking about how easily red fades and turns pink or an orange color. Not a pleasant thought for a long term investment. The next option is the metallic silver color. I’ve owned a metallic silver car for the past 7 years, and it the best thing is it doesn’t show dirt at all. It’s a matter if I want a change of scenery or not. The final color is the metallic grey. My personal favorite choice just because it is different, but the wife is adamant that it is the most boring color she has ever seen. Hence the quandary. Anyone have any opinions to help sway me?

[poll=4]

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…but estimates are it is to be back and running, with a slight improvement.

So, most people know the smart car is one of the smallest cars around…at least in the United States and only in current production. There have been plenty of cars in the past which actually have beaten it out for size. However, the most current rival was to be a car produced by the Tata Corporation of India named the Nano. Don’t get me started on the name of the car, the Tata Nano. Sounds like some kind of committee I heard about in elementary school. I have to admit it didn’t look that bad, and it has four doors. Well, today, the company announced they are going to shut down the plant that was to produce them due to land disputes. Talk about cutting the feet out from underneath before you are even started. However, they announced that they will produce an electric version of the car for Norway within the year. Hopefully they can find a new location for the plant and get things rolling. We need to disperse small ugly cars around the world!

Retrieved from -Engadget-

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Yup, just checked this morning, and it moved up one more month. Since the estimated date of actually receiving the car is 30 days after the first date, I could be looking at June of next year.

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…but I have another update on my smart car order.

I told everyone I would keep them updated, but while I was on vacation last week, I got an update on my smart stating it would arrive between Aug. 09 and Oct. 09. Since I forgot my login info (yeah, I know, I should remember it) while I was on vacation, I couldn’t update. I thought I would check again today and saw that it got bumped up one more month yet again! And since I hear that most people are receiving theirs at the beginning of the range, that means I’m about one year out!

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…but I’m sure it will still be plenty expensive to justify.

Daimler’s CEO Deiter Zetsche announced that the smart car will have an electric version of the car starting in 2010. This tacks on to Toyota’s iQ electric car and several others who are joining the ranks with electric engines. Reports claim that they don’t know who will make the electric engines (possibly from Israeli’s Project Better Place), but from what I hear, Mercedes Benz is buying batteries from Tesla motors, makers of one of the fastest electric cars, to place in their Mercedes cars and smart cars. Sounds pretty reliable, but still somewhat expensive. I will have to wait and see how much battery replacements cost, how far the car can go on a charge and the total cost of the car before even considering.

Retrieved from -Dvice-
Retrieved from -Dvice-

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…for the smart car of my dreams!

Yup, just a short post to let the faithful followers of my smart car dream see how the delivery date is changing constantly.

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…too bad it’s further out than the dealerships quoted 12 to 14 month range!

So, everyday at lunch, I take a quick break, hold my breath and click on the link to check the updated delivery date for my ordered smart car with their DDE (Delivery Date Estimator). Normally it takes 30-90 days from plopping down the reservation deposit to get a response, so, since it has only been about 42 days, I wasn’t really hoping for much, but I got notice (as seen above) that my delivery date is estimated between October 2009 and December 2009. That is more in the 17 to 19 month range, but that’s fine…more time to save up money. I might try to convince the wife to make this either my birthday present (October) or Christmas present.

Or, I could just go over to Japan and buy one from a vending machine. It’s almost the color I want (yellow with black stripe), but beggars can’t be choosers! Just kidding! This has fooled a few people, but it is actually a vending machine for literature about the smart car. Hmmm, maybe if they placed fewer cars in vending machines mine would get here quicker…what do you think?

Retrieved from -Gizmodo-

Anyway, here’s to me in a smart car a year and a half from now…hopefully I won’t be dead!

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…and ordered my Mr. Bean car. Now, the wait begins. At least there is one plus with being located in Charlotte, the wait list is only 12 to 14 months instead of the 24 months that is in Atlanta and Texas for example. My color choice is the one pictured, since I figured if I was going to drive a car that is small and unnoticeable, I want to be REALLY noticed!

I have heard from the Smart Car of America group that smart is planning on discontinuing the yellow color for the 2009 line of fortwo cars. So, right now, that is only a speculation at the moment. Here’s crossing my fingers and hoping that they keep it for one more model line.

I will keep everyone updated on the status of my car as well as my thoughts on my test drive as time elapses.

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