We received this story from Craig Brooks of Welland, Ontario today:

My commute to work is 216 kms round trip, 5 days per week. The commute is 90% secondary highways, posted speed limit of 80 km/hr with intermittent lights and stop signs. The remaining 10% is in city / town stop and go. I currently work for an industrial dust collection system manufacturer doing design and estimating.

We picked up our smart car April 8th. The car was a dealer orphan and I picked it from the dealers showroom. It is a Black / Blue pulse with the only option being the Metallic paint. The car was purchased primarily for the fuel savings it could provide us with. This is really only part of the reason, for fuel savings we could have bought an Echo for less money, but I had fallen in love with the car after seeing it for the first time during an episode of “The Amazing Race”

I previously drove a 1997 F-150 4.2litre extended cab. I had been driving that vehicle for about six years. We still have the truck at home, as it has 383,000 kms on it, and we could not trade it in. It is occasionally required for work the car cannot perform i.e. towing the boat, and for dive trips where three or four divers and their gear must be moved.

The truck is averaging about 15.5 litres/100 kms. At current fuel costs here ($1.037 gas) my commute to work would now be costing us $ 173.59 per week or $ 8,505.91 per year (49 weeks)

The smart is averaging 3.5 litres/100 kms. At current diesel cost here $0.939 litre it is costing us $ 35.49 per week or $ 1,739.01 per year.

Based on 52,920 km, the smart is saving us $6,766.90 annually.

The smart car is fun to drive, easy to park, turns on a dime, turns heads on top of being well designed and having exceptional fuel economy … most of all it’s the people I have met since buying the car. For no other car I have owned have I experienced such a community of diverse backgrounds who all share a love for this car.

Plenty of people are misinformed, creatures of habit with preconceived notions of ’small = unsafe’. I can’t tell you how many times I have overheard that its “electric” or my favourite “I wouldn’t want to get hit by a transport truck in that” ………… “Oh really what would you like to get hit by a transport truck in” is usually the response. Most people once they ask a few questions really like the car and I encourage people to sit in it to see that small on the outside can still mean big on the inside ………. I’ve had a few people ask “if I sell them”

I had heard of the One-Tonne Challenge in passing mostly, but have since been exposed to it more and have been on the website.

The only drawback I have experienced and I hesitate to even call it that is that you need to plan extra time to complete tasks or errands around town. This is due to the inevitable person with that “sorry I don’t mean to bother you” ………. Truth be told, there not really bothering me at all……..

Very impressive Craig. Well done. I think we have a t-shirt for you when the 100 MPG Challenge swings by your area.

We calculated the GHG (CO2) emissions as follows, based on each vehicle being driven 52,920 kms annually:

F150 (15.5 L/100km)
(8203 L x 2.4 kg/L)
19,687 kgs

smart (3.5 L/100km)
(1852 L x 2.7 kg/L)
5000 kgs

Craig is producing nearly 15 tonnes less GHG each year now that he is driving the smart.

(For more information on estimated GHG emissions for other vehicles, see the Fuel Consumption Guide.)