This smart little number goes from red to blue

By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE

Like your car to tone in with your new flame-red jacket? Just change the panels.

Depending on your mood or the occasion, you can swap the plastic body panels on the new "Smart city coupe" in about 90 minutes.

The tiny cars, launched in Europe in 1998, have begun to trickle into New Zealand.

Eastern Bay of Plenty couple Bob and Faye Gillon fell in love with the vehicles during their travels in Europe three years ago when they visited the Smart car assembly plant in Paris.

Back home running their Whakatane motor lodge, Mr Gillon set about importing the first new right-hand-drive model of the marque. That proved to be a long bureaucratic process that cost him $28,000.

He bought the upmarket model with all the extras from Smart of Bristol, in England, where the retail price was £8600 ($25,100).

The model they chose is called Passion - there is a sportier one named Pulse.

A few secondhand Smart cars, which look like a bubble on wheels and are jointly designed by Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, have now come into New Zealand.

Australian tests have found that the car's plastic panels - designed to be changed in a few minutes - are less susceptible to damage.

The Gillons, undecided whether to buy a blue (her choice) or a red (his pick) car, ended up getting three for the price of one.

Having ordered a second set of interchangeable panels - so the blue could be signwritten to advertise their business and the red be used for private travelling - they found that the extra panels put in the shipping container with the car were the wrong colour.

Smart car's head office in Germany was apologetic and airfreighted them the blue panels, leaving the couple with the unasked-for metallic grey-coloured set.

Now the new car has at last been inspected, certified and registered for use, the Gillons can ring the changes.

But the first panel swap a week ago was not a success. It took Mr Gillon the best part of a day to change the panels because no instructions were provided.

The car body is high-strength stainless steel in black and silver and the clip-on plastic panels come in a range of colours or prints.

Because there is no back seat and little storage space (the 698cc Mercedes Benz turbocharged engine is at the rear), the Gillons have kept their van and their Nissan Maxima.

A luggage carrier and a frame for two bicycles can be fitted to the back of the Smart car "but there is certainly no room for the golf clubs".

The Gillons say people take a second look, point, laugh and wave when they drive by.

"It's neat when you can bring a smile to their faces," said Mrs Gillon.

The only worry for her husband is that there is no specialised servicing for the car in NZ and no warranty.

"It has a lot of electronic stuff which is quite different from other cars here. If something packs up, it's not covered," he said.

"I have taken a hell of a gamble."

The Automobile Association's motoring policy manager, Jayne Gale, has seen plenty of the "dinky" little Smart cars in Europe and thinks they are ideal space and fuel savers, environmentally friendly and particularly attractive to female drivers.

"Imagine being able to match your car to the colour of your shoes! I think it's a real winner for women."