San Diego and a Smart Car rant

Talking to myself again in the ether of cyberspace...

...moved to San Diego to start life over....

And stuff.

And among that stuff (saw THE AMERICAN and MACHETE, loved both) I decided to test drive a Smart Car.

And although I haven't Googled to see if other rants out there echo what I'm saying--I would be shocked if anyone who has been to Europe and seen that a culture can survive on cars that are small and get 50 mpg (whatever the conversion to liters may be) hasn't mused regret over the rumor that the Smart Car in Europe gets 51 mpg and the Smart Car in the USA gets 36 mpg.

WTF?

After a test drive, I think I know why.

The European version of the Smart Car apparently has a standard transmission.

The USA Smart Car has a complicated automatic that doubles as a faux, clutchless standard.

And it's fun to drive with the faux shift--it can go with a faux stick shift or faux Formula One style steering wheel mounted flippers.

But it's all bullshit.

51 mpg in Europe and 36 mpg in the USA smacks of corporate greed, pure and simple.

The reason Americans can't get a Smart Car with a standard transmission is because someone wanted to make more money with their stock in oil.

And if anyone has any cool links to back up my rant--feel free to post them.

Peace Out.