Smart Cars, Are they worth it?

As the nation looks for a new way to avoid the ever dreaded fill up at the pump, they seem to turn towards something smaller, something more "practical", but is this sudden surge towards "practical" really the solution everyone has been searching for? The new and highly talked about Smart car has been taking the nation by storm with its tiny shape and economical fuel mileage. Many believe that the car is the way of the future, and this could be true, but what will happen when the family wants to go out of town for a weekend or want to haul anything?

With the car gaining over 48 miles-per-gallon in town and close to 70 on the road of course these glorified go-carts will sell. For a single person or those who are mostly by themselves the car is an ideal means of transportation, but spending $12-17,000 on a brand new car because of the fuel mileage is hypocritical in the scheme to save money. The average American uses around 500 gallons of gasoline per year, at $4 a gallon, this is roughly $2,000 dollars a year. Spending $17,000 dollars on a new car will therefore take you 8.5 years to break even on your investment and start to actually save you money. Many people look at the problem as a solution that can be used now. A quick fix to the ever growing problem the entire world is beginning to face.

Another major dilemma of the Smart Car is the strain it puts on American automakers to compete in the global market. As more of these European Engineered cars pour into the market place, it leaves us with no choice but to compete. American's though are used to the large SUV and trucks that provide comfort and are ergonomically friendly. We, as Americans, love the thrill of power, and the 3-cylinder, 71 horsepower engine, just isn't cutting the cake. Why must we sacrifice power just to save a little coin? A shift in the market of America automakers must be to lean towards using alternative fuels to completely dissociate the so called "Smart Cars" and eliminate the use of gasoline entirely. This could find a way to keep the overally large vehicles we drive on the road and keep the comfort, and it could also allow us to keep the power that we've grown to know as American.