A Smart Car in DC!, 500 block Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

As regular readers know, I take a strong "anti-car" position, but it is really a form of grandstanding. I take a hardcore attitude mostly because much of the issue sphere is strongly pro-car, and not too attuned to how pro-car they really are.

Like the problem of roads being over-engineered for high speeds, which is a tremendous problem in center cities, the biggest problem is that there are limited choices for getting around when it comes to buying a car.

I have long maintained that car manufacturers that produce small cars should have special marketing and distribution systems to sell and service their cars in cities.

Of course, most cars that people think are small, such as the new VW Beetle, are pretty big. Even the Mini is 12 feet long, and the VW is about 13.5 feet long.

Speaking of what I call "mobility 'rithmetic," recognize that the average car is about 15 feet long, and since a typical DC block is 270-300 feet wide, you can only fit about 16 cars to a lane, given the amount of space in between cars. Think about this when you think about congestion. These are facts.

So one of the truly urban technology solutions has to be truly small cars. In my opinion, only the Smart Car qualifies. Right now, Smart Cars are being sold in Canada--this one has Alberta license plates, but they are to be sold in the U.S. beginning next year.

However, I do not know if the company is developing an center city specific marketing strategy.
A Smart Car is smaller than a treebox.




Index Keywords: mobility