Smart: Small Car, Big Deal Paperback – 3 Oct. 2008

excellent

a coffee tablebook, giving the thoughts and ideas, behind the smart car, I had the thought on reading this book, that it was more of an advertisment, for smart car rather than a look at the car itself, also several years old.

I finally got around to purchasing the three "picture books" on the smart series, and of the three, this is the only one that I would recommend. While the layout is quite modern (and there are some errors, such as labeling a photo of the firm's administrative headquarters as the factory), it is still a condensed, readable account of what has happened since D-B/Mercedes and Hayak got together to combine their ideas for a city car.Originally a German concept (vis the Messerschmitt "bubble car"), the city car was matured in Japan, where all of the manufacturers have very small models that seldom see the export light of day. The DB/Hayak collision was a synthesis of the two firm's concepts. Hayak wanted small, fun and cheap, DB wanted safe, quality and "Germanic". The result pleased D-B more than Hayak, who dropped out of the partnership before the first launch. And the result was the smart, a small, safe, fun and high quality (some might quibble there) vehicle.This book chronicles the story, from inception to about 2007. All of the smart vehicles are given some coverage, if only in photo or diagram form. The layout is much more along the lines of an Apple Computer publication than a typical car book, and there are plenty of photos of designs that never made it off the drawing board, of decorated smart enthusiast's cars and of the people and factory facilities behind the line. You will find zero technical information in this book (a problem that plagues all smart-oriented publications), but for a well thought out "overview history" of the car, this is the one to buy.(Incidentally, the other two "picture books" on the smart are filled with duplicated photographs through and through. That's not the case with this book.)I was not happy with the binding (a "soft hardcover", with a jacket fused to a paperback binding), but (of the three picture books) I would buy this one above all.

High quality binding cover and pictures. A bit disappointed when I went through the book. Pre buy information says it is 2008 publication but it is actually originally 2007. A number of pages has lots of picture collages but none of the smart car or minimal. Very limited info and pictures on the 451 model. Also repetitive account of history throughout the book.