smart Smorgasbord

I stopped by smart center Virginia Beach yesterday to get a closer look at its service department, since I had yet to venture back there and had been wondering if it was any different from a "normal" service department.  It turns out that, much like the smart car itself, the service department is not that different, just shorter.  A lot shorter!

In other smart center VB news, Drew Spade has come down from Checkered Flag Hyundai/VW to be the newest smart Brand Specialist.  He told me that he has wanted to come to smart since attending the smart road show that was held last August.  Congratulations, Drew!

Also, Linda Dales is now working service prep at smart, making sure all the vehicles are in tip-top shape before delivery.

The last bit of local smart news I received was that the wait list for smarts still exists and demand is still high.  The good news is that, beginning this Friday, smart center VB, in order to better serve those customers that do not wish to wait, will begin selling a carefully chosen selection of pre-owned vehicles as well. Expect small, fuel efficient models from VW and Toyota.

And finally, we promised that when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released their crash tests for the smart Fortwo (the smallest vehicle they have ever tested), we would share them with you.  The IIHS gave smart the top rating of "good" for front and side crash protection.  Its seat and head restraints earned the second-best rating of "acceptable" for whiplash protection in rear impacts.  Institute president Adrian Lund stated, "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better.  But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."  Click here to read more.