smart bling: sex up my smart

Check out this super-pimped smart with 17" wheels and hydraulics! Trunk space is optional when you can pack it with a flat screen monitor and enough amplifiers to power an intimate concert venue. The customization prices quoted are in British Pounds- so double them for US dollars. Which leads me to wonder- is this the most expensive smart in the world?

smart stop NYC: Project No. 8

Your faithful Agent ØØsmart once found himself on a shop 'til you drop mission in Bangkok.  I hydrated to the max and wore my Nike racing flats, hitting the pavement in search of new retail frontiers.  To my surprise all local fingers pointed to Hermès and Vuitton.  "I've got all the global brands at home on 5th Avenue- show me a cool boutique!" I said.  And they did.

For those seeking something special in NYC- meet Project No. 8.  It's on Division Street, which is great smart territory- street parking on the evenings and weekends, plus cool restaurants like Good World and Les Enfants Terribles.  Project No. 8 has a compact and superbly curated product offering- covering the bases of clothing, jewelry, and objets.  Get yourself a little something.  Go on, you deserve it.

Project No. 8

138 Division Street / New York, NY 10002

Street parking: available most evenings and weekends, check signs

Visit Project No. 8 online

smart challenge: time to get in the game

Approximately one month into competition, Paris is holding firm in the #1 spot on our international smart challenge scoreboard.  I know, you may find 107 points to be a little intimidating- but did 14 cheerleaders let a record of 13 girls in a smart car scare off an attempt at glory?  Not at all; they went for it! For those bold enough to represent their city on the global stage, here are the guidelines:

1. Document location
2. Document start and stop times
3. Count and document smarts with one full-view (minimum 75% visible) image per car
4. If a smart is obscured by another smart, document both cars in a single image and count both (or any multiple of) smarts
5. Respect local traffic and pedestrian rules

Godspeed to you all.

View the original smart car challenge post

smart video: with a little help from the lads

Who says a group of drunken lads at 3am = trouble? These rockstars show maximum love of smart in a spontaneous UK parking party.

smart sounds: this is the remix

OK it's Friday and tonight you will rock. Zero 7's "You're my Flame" gets the remix treatment by Justus Kohncke. Fans of the album single will appreciate Sia's heavenly vocals over a wicked house track. I heard DJ Danny Krivit drop this one in NYC and the result was... how do you say?.. total dancefloor pandemonium. Available on iTunes now- buy it and make your evening drive the pre-party for whatever lies beyond.

Visit Zero 7 on MySpace

street smart: discount parking

It worked for Andy Rooney, and my first request for reduced garage parking rates was well received. I spoke to Sammy at Minetta Garage on West 3rd Street (around the corner from Mamoun's Falafel). He was super nice and said he would definitely hook up smart owners with reduced monthly parking prices! On the flip side, most garages charge more for SUVs- so this could be the beginning of an interesting trend.

Minetta Garage

122 West 3rd St / New York, NY 10012

Between Thompson St. and 6th Ave

Share your garage tips with Agent ØØsmart by clicking the email link at right.

smart video: smart forfourteen

What happens when 13 German cheerleaders pack into a smart car? They establish a world record- which in turn gives 14 English cheerleaders a bright idea. Records were meant to be broken, after all. Check out the English squad's attempt at Guinness glory. Go Eagles!

Attention all American cheerleaders- do I hear 15?

smart stop NYC: Jeff Koons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Koonsian, adj: in the style of contemporary artist Jeff Koons, shiny, manufactured, and highlighting a saccharin sweetness of pop culture, straddling a fine line between art object and everyday item. ex. The smart fortwo is a very Koonsian vehicle.

Will someone over at smart Corporate HQ please get Jeff Koons in a smart car for a photo op? Actually, I'm not called Agent ØØsmart for nothing, dear Corporate. Loan me the car and I'll make it happen. Such an event would be a meeting of the minds on par with the Reykjavik Summit.

Until then, smart fans, see Jeff Koons' sculptures in the best museum gallery New York City has to offer: the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Metroplitan Museum of Art: Jeff Koons on the Roof

Through October 26, 2008- weather permitting

1000 Fifth Avenue / New York, NY 10028

Street parking: limited, on avenues and side streets

Museum garage: Fifth Avenue & 80th Street

street smart: back-in parking 2

Men's Vogue offers a fun account of rolling a smart in the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan- they even get some tips on pimping your ride for max street cred. Our question on back-in parking (is it legal?) is also addressed:

"I knew, rationally, that the smart was the ideal car (if that's not an oxymoron these days) for New York, or any city. Like football, parking here is a game of inches, and in the smart I was able to gobble up all those maimed parking spots, near hydrants and crosswalks and bus stops. Backed in perpendicular to the curb, the smart could conquer even smaller spots; in New York, however, angle parking is illegal. So, too, is putting two smarts in one metered space. "I'll ticket the second car," a NYPD traffic enforcement officer sternly warned me."

Well that answers our question. Where to go from here? My next step will be to find out if there's any long term thinking on the subject over at NYC Transportation.

Visit the Men's Vogue article and slide show

smart bling: pimp this ride

OK I'l admit it- one of my favorite TV shows is Pimp My Ride. And it's not because I'm a gearhead freaking out over the flush mount BBQ in the trunk, or a 24" subwoofer. It's actually because of the pathetic plights of the cars and owners in need of pimping. How can any 18 year-old be cool when rolling the joke of Beverly Hills High? We all know that a pimped ride = popularity! dates! free pizza! spiritual enlightenment! success!

This blinged-out gold smart, reminded me of the dental work of a certain old skool rapper, Just Ice. smart bling is a new category in this blog- and it's going to be a fun one.

smart sounds: American Boy

It's that time of year in the hot 'n steamy streets of NYC- time for the summer jam of 2008 to boom from '64 Impalas and smart fortwos on a long 4th of July weekend. Estelle's "American Boy" featuring Kanye West has that sunny bounce that makes it a frontrunner for the prize of Summer Jam '08. Will it go the distance?

Visit Estelle on MySpace

street smart: back-in parking 1

Here's some more news on NYC "back-in" parking (is it legal?). A late 2007 article from the New York Post is my first glimpse of a definitive answer:

"The fortwo, which comes in a coupe or a convertible, can also park perpendicular to the curb, according to Dave Schembri, president of smart USA. However, such parking is not permitted in the city, transportation official said."

Somehow back-in parking in NYC struck me as too good to be true- and it seems that's the case. I will dig a little deeper just to be sure.

Read the New York Post article, and view a related video