Career Gear: Smart Cars

Gas prices being what they are, getting to work (or looking for work) has never been more costly. Even those with relatively short commutes are feeling the pinch of high gas prices. Some employers are doing their bit by allowing some workers to telecommute or telework. But, that won’t work for everyone. If your job or business requires that you face your clients or that your customers lay hands on your merchandise, you still need to go into the office.

Getting to the office will cost you more than ever these days. The average cost of a gallon of regular gas is $4.07/gallon. The average cost of a gallon of premium gas is $4.48/gallon. For many public transportation is the answer to petro woes, but for those in cities without a well-developed public transportation system and those whose job requires travel to multiple locations, public transportation doesn’t fix the problem.

But, worry not, Smart Car is here! It’s the most expensive career gear I’ve ever profiled but it’s well worth the investment. The Smart Car is a European import brought to the USA by Mercedes-Benz. It’s a cute, quirky-looking car that delivers an average of 33 miles per gallon in the city and 41 miles per gallon on the highway.

The current model, the 2008 Smart Fortwo, is packed with features you’d only expect to find in a “real car”. Not that the Smart Car is not a real car, but it does appear a bit toy-ish. Key features include:

1.0-liter, 3-cylinder, 70 horsepower engine
5-speed automated manual transmission
Accelerates 0 to 60 in 12.8 seconds
Gets 33 miles per gallon (city)/41 miles per gallon (highway)
Economically priced at $11,590 (ForTwo Pure) to $16,590 (ForTwo Passion Cabriolet convertible)
Full-size driver and passenger airbags
Head/Neck side airbags
ESP - electronic stability program with hill start assist
Anti-lock braking system (abs)
Top Tether for child restraint system
Panic button on key
Smart radio with aux jack for iPod optional
Heated seats & Air conditioning optional
More features

My favorite feature of all is the Smart Car’s ability to squeeze into even the tiniest parking spots (I was able to park perpendicular to the curve!).

Want your own Smart Car, make a reservation ($99 fee is refundable/applied to purchase price of your Smart Car) or visit your local Mercedes-Benz dealer.

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This entry was written by careersthatdontsuck and posted on July 21, 2008 at 4:16 pm and filed under Career Gear, career. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment(Latest is displayed first) or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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