Pam Hansen and her Smart Car

Pam Hansen Alfred’s Smart Car story from Polly

     - Sitting in her Great Falls office, Pam Hansen Alfred is far from Germany where she saw her first “Smart Car” in 2004.

     “It only took up half a parking place” describes Alfred of the small common vehicles which easily maneuvered through hectic traffic.  After all, narrow European roads and crowded cities existed before cars were invented.

     Right away, the easy to park, eco-friendly car, appealed to Alfred.  She had driven kids around for years in a big Suburban.

      Now, an empty nester, she didn’t need all that room.

     “I only drive to church, the office, to workout, play tennis, and back home,” she says of her five year quest to down size and get a Smart Car.

     A cross town mini car was what the Swatch Mercedes ART, (Smart) was designed for, according to the Swiss watchmaker, Swatch, the original car manufacturer. Later, Swatch partnered with Daimler-Benz and built a factory complex called Smartville in Hambach, France.

     Alfred sat by and watched thousands of used Smart Cars come to the United States, but, it took years for the Mercedes manufacturer to produce new cars that met U.S. emissions standards.

     Finally, in September of 2007, U.S. customers could reserve a Smart Car for ninety-nine dollars with delivery promised for January 2008.  It was such a deal, that without question, Alfred reserved one of the $12,000 - $15,000 vehicles.  The popularity of the automobile backlogged the company’s production by ninety days, while Alfred anxiously sat by waiting for her affordable, energy efficient car.

     Not only would the car be unique, she wanted to use it as a “mobile billboard” for her State Farm insurance business.  

     Husband Bob questioned that she had never driven one; how would she know she would like it?

     A trip to California to visit a son in college solved that.  Alfred found a Smart Car dealership in Santa Barbara that offered her a test drive.  She was surprised how “fine” the car drove at 75 mph down the freeway, and how comfortable it was.  It was easy to park and short enough to allow “nose in” parking.  Its’ 8’x8” length would equal the width of a regular parking slot, allowing two or three Smarts to park in the space as one normal car.

     That particular dealership had a rally red Smart Car with red interior that a fellow had reserved, but didn’t take.

     When the car was offered to her, she immediately said, “I want that car,” and cancelled her original order.

       Arrangements were made to ship the vehicle to Montana.

      The anxious Alfred thought it would be just a week or so before she would officially slide behind the wheel of her Smart car.

     “But, guess what,” she explains, “they lose my car in Sun Valley, California, forty miles from the dealership.

       However, days later, the embarrassed shippers found the Smart Car and ultimately didn’t charge for delivery.

     Now, only weeks on the streets with her three cylinder, 71 horsepower engine car, Alfred is smiling.

    “Everyone thinks it is electric.  No.  It’s gas. It gets around 33 miles per gallon in the city and over 40 mpg on the highway.   And, it has very safe ratings.” 

     Alfred’s Smart Car also has power steering, automatic transmission, power windows and locks, a stereo CD player, a sun roof, four air bags, and a steel encasement around the driver.     If she gets tired of the exterior color, she can interchange the color panels.

     Ecstatic that she finally has her long sought after car, Alfred is surprised at the road attention she garners.

       “It’s a head turner, she says. “When I’m stopped at the traffic lights, people roll down their windows, clap, and give me a thumbs-up.”

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