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Smart fever is catching on, even though it’s months before the first of the tiny cars from Mercedes-Benz officially go on sale in the United States.

The authorized U.S. distributor, Smart USA (www.smartusa.com), has begun a series of tours with the Smart ForTwo across the country to give would-be buyers a chance to see the cars and get behind the wheel, if only for a few minutes.

The tour was in San Antonio for three days weekend before last, and hundreds of people – including many from Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin and Houston — showed up. The cars were in Houston last weekend, but won’t reach Dallas until Oct. 26-31.

What was clear from the visitors to the Smart tour in downtown San Antonio is that many of these potential consumers are people who love odd new vehicles, particularly ones that make a statement. The statement they believe the Smart is making, they said, is that it’s time to think more about the environment and stop driving around in behemoth vehicles that pollute the air and compound our dependence on foreign oil.

The ForTwo holds just two people, gets about 40 miles to the gallon, and is cute as all-get-out.

There are three models – a base coupe with no frills that will sell for about $12,000; a coupe with air conditioning, power windows/door locks and an AM/FM/compact-disc player for $14,000; and a convertible, with all the extras of the midlevel model plus a power-operated top for $17,000. The cars are 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet high, and 5.1 feet wide. In Europe, it’s common to see two of these cars parked in the same parallel parking space.

“I’ve been waiting for these cars for a long time, after first seeing them in Europe,” said Dan Kinnunen of Austin, who said he already has paid $99 through the Smart Web site to reserve one of the cars. He hopes to get it soon after they go on sale in January.

He said he will buy his from the dealership in San Antonio because Smart does not plan to have a dealer in Austin. The Metroplex will have at least one dealer, however.

Kinnunen is already into tiny cars – he owns a Mini Cooper.

After stepping out of the ForTwo after a five-minute drive on downtown streets, he said the Smart was “a lot of fun.”

He said he believes the car will be popular with people who feel strongly about protecting the environment.

The car’s fuel-sipping nature is a result of the 71-horsepower, 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine, which is mounted under the rear cargo floor. It’s connected to an automatic transmission that also can be shifted manually.

In my own test drive, the transmission shifted clumsily. But my Smart host said the U.S. model will have smoother shifting. The cars being used on the U.S. tour were built for the European market. Although it was hard to gauge during a short drive on busy downtown streets, the ForTwo seemed to have a lot of pep despite having such a small engine. That’s due in part to its light weight — 1,653 pounds for the coupe and 1,741 for the convertible model.

Top speed for the U.S. version is 90 mph. The European model, which has a 700cc (0.7-liter) engine, has a top speed of 85.

“It’s got some giddy-up to it,” said Trish Cater of San Antonio as she wrapped up her test drive. She said she plans to buy one to haul around in the back of her fifth-wheel camper, but doesn’t plan to use it as her everyday vehicle.

That’s in line with Smart’s marketing studies, which suggest that for many Americans, the ForTwo will be a second or third vehicle.

Because it doesn’t have a back seat, it won’t be suitable for families, but Jenny Romero of San Antonio, another of the test-drivers, said she might buy one anyway. “I can’t get my family in it,” she said. “But it’s really cute.”

Mercedes showed a four-passenger version of the Smart, called (not surprisingly) the ForFour, at the 2004 Detroit auto show, and said at the time that it would be in the U.S. lineup along with the ForTwo.

But shortly after that show, the German automaker canceled plans to bring the Smart to the United States.

It wasn’t until gasoline prices began spiking last summer that Mercedes changed its mind and rekindled its plans. But the ForFour will not be offered here, and a previous-generation ForFour that has been sold in Europe and other markets is being discontinued.

Mercedes launched the Smart brand in 1998, and since has sold more than 770,000 of them in 36 nations, including some in Central and South America.

Until now, the company had not taken the steps to make the car legal for sale in the United States. Modifications had to be made so it could meet U.S. safety and smog standards.

There already is an unauthorized U.S. distributor for the European version of the ForTwo, ZAP of California (www.zapworld.com).

ZAP (Zero Air Pollution), whose primary business is development of electric vehicles, buys the Smart cars from dealers in Europe, then modifies them to meet U.S. safety and smog regulations.

This process adds about $10,000 to the price, which means that ZAP must sell the cars for prices in the mid-$20,000s. ZAP has filed a suit against Mercedes over distribution rights in the U.S. market. Smart’s authorized U.S. dealer network is being set up by the Penske Automotive Group (formerly UnitedAuto ), led by motor sports legend Roger Penske.

Rather than market the cars through its established Mercedes dealers, Mercedes-Benz parent DaimlerChrysler decided to give the Smart distribution rights to Penske. The rationale was that the bargain-priced Smart cars would not mix well with the high-priced premium vehicles sold by Mercedes dealerships.

The car coming in January is the second-generation ForTwo, which is eight inches longer and two inches wider than the original model.

It’s quite roomy for both driver and passenger, who sit about eight inches higher than they would in a traditional compact sedan, the company said.

Six-foot-seven Russ Byington of Austin took a test drive, and said the car fit him “just perfectly.” “I was able to get in and out easily, and nothing touched anything while I was in the driver’s seat,” he said. “I was quite surprised with the shoulder room.”

Even so, Byington isn’t going to buy a Smart for himself.

“I’m looking at it for my son, who’s getting ready to go to college,” he said. He plans to stick with his Ford F-250 pickup.”

The first question many people ask about the Smart is whether it is safe.

Smart says it is, because it is constructed with a “Tridion Safety Cell” designed to protect the occupants during a crash.

The cell is “a metal-formed structure that surround’s the car’s occupants and dissipates energy in the event of a collision,” the company said. There is a crash-test video on the Smart Web site that shows how the safety cell works.

Still, though, safety experts believe that the best way to stay safe in a car this small is to avoid accidents altogether.

To that end, the Smart is more maneuverable than larger cars, SUVs and trucks, making it easier to steer clear of a potential collision.

To help with that maneuverability, the ForTwo comes with electronic stability control and antilock brakes, key ingredients of an active safety system. It also has corner braking control and emergency brake-assist, which helps the driver apply steady and firm brake pressure during a panic stop.

The car also has traction control to help it on slippery surfaces, and hill-hold, which keeps the car from rolling backward when it stops on hills.

Four air bags – front and seat-mounted side – will help protect the occupants in a collision.

In these days of rising gasoline prices and concerns about the possibility of global warming, Mark Walsh of Austin said of the Smart: “I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

He said he has already reserved two – one for himself and one for his wife.

“I’ve been curious about them since I started seeing them in Europe,” he said. “I think it’s the right time to bring them to the United States.”

G. Chambers Williams III is staff automotive columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and former transportation writer for the Star-Telegram. His automotive columns have appeared regularly in the Star-Telegram since 1995. Contact him at (210) 250-3236; chambers@star-telegram.com.

Smart car facts The Smart ForTwo, a two-seat minicar that was driven by Steve Martin’s Inspector Clouseau in the recent “Pink Panther” film, is coming to America. Here are some tidbits of information:

It’s 8.8 feet long and weighs about 1,700 pounds. The exterior body panels are plastic and are easily interchangeable, so owners can change their cars’ color. Combined city-highway fuel economy is about 40 mpg. There is 12 cubic feet of storage space behind the front seats. Its 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine produces 71 horsepower. Top speed is 90 mph. Coupe models start at $12,000; the convertible is $17,000. U.S. dealers will begin selling the cars in January.