Smart Cars Invade Chicago

I just received this email today and thought it may be of interest to those CMMC members who just can't get enough of small cars:

After viewing details, we wanted to get in touch with you & members directly regarding the unique opportunity to participate with the Target Smart Cars. We're excited to bring the exclusive branded ForTwo vehicles into Chicago this 4th of July! We'd love to extend members from Chicago MINI Club the chance to drive a Smart Car for in this single event date on America's Birthday. Ideal candidates possess an enthusiastic attitude to interact with the public and have small vehicle driving experience.

The crew will be responsible for motoring the Bullseyed Smart Cars as a fleet unit to create a moving billboard in promotion for Target Stores throughout the city. Limited positions are available for the date: Monday, July 4th with exact times & city locations to be determined. The date of participation will consist of six hours with payment at $25 per hour (to motor a Smart Car!).

To receive an application and placement onto the crew contact list for tour employment, interested drivers may email mcoulter@legacymp.com. Please pass along this unique opportunity to qualified individuals that may also be interested; It's always fun and ideal to hire a crew familiar with driving together. We are looking forward to bringing the branded Smart Cars to Chicago and welcome your involvement!

Sound pretty cool huh? I won't be able to make it personally… but I can't wait to see some pics!

  • jeeves

    I'm always looking to drive something small and unique. You have my intrest.

  • Ken E

    I sent the message and can't wait to see if I get to drive the Smart Car.
    I saw them durring the Chicago International Film fest and was able to check one out in detail. COOL Stuff.

  • Jim

    That is so cool! I just sent my email. I'll cut my Summerfest visit short if need be. :)

    Jim

  • Richard Hicks

    Count me in! I love to drive a Smart Car!

  • Jeff Walter

    My wife and I were lucky enough to get selected as drivers for this event, and we had a blast! Spent several hours crusing around downtown in three different Smart ForTwo's.

    Everywhere we stopped, we got mobbed by people wanting to sit in/poke around the Smart cars. The most common question was “Is it electric?”.

    I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people with genuine interest in buying the car if it comes stateside in the next year or two. We even had one guy say he wanted to get rid of his H2 and buy one (that would be a 600% increase in fuel efficiency).

    I would have to say I was impressed with the car itself as well. The turbo-charged .7 liter in-line 3-cylinder makes good usage of all 51 ponies. The car has definitely been tuned for city driving. It has decent acceleration if you keep the revs above 3K rpm, that is until you hit about 35 mph.

    If you plan on winding the car up past 35, you may want to pack some supplies. It takes 18 seconds to hit 60 mph.

    The suspension is tight, but still compliant. A touch of body roll, but not bad. Turning radius is insane, as you would expect. And speaking of turning, there is NO power steering or assist at all! Sucks to turn the wheel while sitting still, but the feedback is awesome when you are moving. Nice and heavy on center feel when cruising. Reminded me of the last generation of 3-series, before the new variable-assist system came out.

    Perhaps the most tricked-out feature however, was the F1 style paddles behind the wheel. I felt like Schumacher in a heavily modified golf cart! Very cool.

    Perhaps the strangest part of the entire day, is the feeling I got when getting back in our MCS. It felt huge! And insanely fast.

    Thanks to Stacey at Legacy marketing for letting us take part in a great day. And thanks to Gabe for passing along the info.