Dean Beck A. Taylor Talks to CBS 42 about the Smart Car

August 4, 2008

Brock School of Business Contact: Kara Kennedy, Director of External Affairs, 205-726-4070, kkennedy@samford.edu

Al Ratcliffe reports for CBS 42

The Smart Cars are here.  The four wheeled, two seater, fuel sipping answers to staggering gas prices have finally come to Birmingham.  At least that's what the folks selling them say. "Actually after the break in period, I've heard from other owners they're getting 46 miles per gallon," says Crown Automotive General Manager Mark Roberts.

Those numbers, between 36 to 40 miles per gallon combined city and highway, is getting them noticed by customers. "That's the main reason I'm looking it over," says Rick Tucker.  "Commuting back and forth to work.  My family lives out of town and everything so I think it would come in handy," he adds.

The car averages between 12 and 18 grand and gets between 33 and 41 miles to the gallon. But what do economists think about the feasibility of these cars. 

Dr. Beck Taylor with Brock School of Business at Samford University did a little number crunching on the smart cars.  He says if you have a trade in worth $5,000, and that car only gets about 10 miles per gallon on the 2000 miles you drive every month, then a base model Smart Car at $12,000 would be worth a look.  "If you've got to cover a $7,000 difference between what you're trading in and what you're getting it would take about a year to get that back," he explains.

Crown Automotive has about 400 of the little cars in stock.  The problem is they're all sold,  and there is up to a 24 month wait to get one in.

Dr. Taylor did his comparison with two vehicle extremes.  If you would like to compare your car to the Smart car, or any other alternative vehicle, just log on to www.cbs42.com and click on Links. There you'll find a car to car comparison calculator to do just that.