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City CarShare now has Smart Cars!
Dear Members,
After a long wait, City CarShare just got the
easy-to-park Smart Car! Now you can dash about town
in this little car built for two, plus some cargo
space.
This past weekend, we tested the car and have some helpful information to share:
- Parking perks galore. You
know those small spaces between driveways you
have to pass up because your car is too long?
Not so with the smart. That means more places
to park when you take the smart car for a
spin.
- Cargo space. We fit $150
worth of groceries from a trip to Rainbow Grocery
in the back. Three to four paper bags fit
easily.
- Once this car gets going, it takes
off! However, the car is like a
manual/stick shift car that shifts for you.
You'll feel the shifting as you gather speed. So
if you're super-sensitive to motion sickness,
take some Dramamine before each trip.
- You can "turn on a dime" in this
car. We found it refreshingly easy to do
u-turns where a 3-point turn would have been
necessary in any other car.
- People smile at you when you drive
it. The cute factor of this car
generates lots of grins from people, making it
extra fun to drive.
- Over 6 feet tall? No
problem with the smart car. Two tall members of
the City CarShare team fit comfortably.
Right now, we have two Smart Cars in our fleet. Both
are the Smart Fortwo model. One was donated by
SOMA
Grand and is located in the SOMA Grand garage at
our San Francisco/SOMA: Stevenson & 7th (SOMA Grand)
pod. Our other Smart will be located at our SF:
Market & 15th (Union 76) pod. We are very grateful
to SOMA Grand for giving us access to one of
these coveted cars.
Important Usage Tip: When you fob out, always check
the door to make sure it's locked. After you fob out,
you might hear a noise that sounds like the door
locking. With the Smart Car, this may not be the
case. To make sure you secure the car, you'll need
to shut the doors harder than you think
for such a small car. Then fob out. And finally,
lift the door handle to make sure
the car is locked. If it's not locked, check all the doors
including the rear door. Then try again. Please do
this every time you fob out, especially with the
Smart Car.
Here are some FAQ's for the extra curious:
Q: How much mileage does it get?
A: 33 miles/gallon city, 40 miles/gallon highway
Q: What are the levers on the steering wheel for?
A: They are called paddle shifters. In
the Smart Car, there are two driving modes: fully
automatic and semi-automatic. For fully automatic
mode, put the car in drive by pulling the gear
shift straight back. You'll see a "D" on the
dashboard to indicate when the car is in "drive."
You can also put the car in semi-automatic mode,
indicated by a "1" on the dashboard. To do this,
move the gearshift lever straight back towards
the drive position and then toward yourself (to
the left). When it is in this position you can
shift the gears up or down using either the
gearshift lever or the paddle shifters on the
steering wheel. If you use the gearshift lever
to shift gears while driving, move it forward or
backward to shift up and down. The car will
automatically "work the clutch" for you, but
remember to take your foot off the gas when you
shift.
Q: Can I park it sideways in a parallel parking space?
A: Sorry but no. California requires both the
front and back tires of a vehicle be within 18
inches of the curb when parked on the street. If
the law changes, we'll let you know.
Q: How safe is it?
A: The Smart Fortwo passed safely tests required
by US law. Overall, when you drive this car, it
feels like you're in a regular car. But other
cars out there are pretty big in comparison. So
it's really up to you to decide whether or not
you want to take it on the highway. We felt safe
taking it around town.
Q: How fast can it go?
A: Roughly 75 miles per hour. Like we said,
when it gets going, it flies.
From all of us at City CarShare, we sincerely hope
that you enjoy using the new Smart Car and encourage
you to write or call to let us know how your
experience has been.
Thanks for sharing!
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THE FINE PRINT
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https://denali.citycarshare.org/signup/optout.action?smart
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