Microcars: Megafun!

Sure, you might look at these cars and think "that looks like an escape-pod for a Hummer," but in big cities, microcars are the most engaging and enjoyable cars around. Computer-aided engineering means they are safer than you'd think, too!

To the right is the Brabus Smart Roadster Coupe I drove for a weekend while working for Autocar in 2004. I covered 500 miles in three days, on an epic adventure from London to Sherborne and back. I had already thought the regular roadster was a gem, and the full-Brabus treatment only made it more appealing--the wastegate whooshed and banged during shifts, and I couldn't stop looking at the chunky bodykit. It wasn't just me either, girls and guys of all ages loved the thing! I can't wait until they bring cars like this to the US.

Take a look at the videos and you'll agree - good things comes in small packages.

1. Top Gear pits the original Mini Cooper against a modern competitor from Fiat to find out who is better at making a racecourse out of the city.




2. A Smartzuki goes insane! Flop a motorcycle engine into the trunk and stand back! I shudder to think how fast the original motorcycle was. For comparision, this Smart has significantly less than 200 bhp. That is probably less than your car.

Bicycling covered the ride

Check this out- The 633 MPG ride was covered by Bicycling magazine (Nov. 2006), and it wound up on their website as well. Click here to be taken to the article--they did a great job capturing the spirit of the ride.

In other news, I've just seen Contested Streets, an absolutely fascinating documentary about street usage. It was so compelling that I decided to review it for a local newspaper to spread the word, but then I learned that they will let you do it yourself! On the website, there is a place where you can sign up to host a public or private screening at your own house or workplace. Get a free DVD and have a party with your friends? Sounds like a deal to me.

Shop smart, shop S-Mart. YA GOT THAT?!

Here's a pic I took a few weeks ago of a Smart car in a parade. They (well, the rest of them) are coming to the US in 2008.

as my dad said, "The old lady standing by the smart is holding on to her stuff for dear life, in case it gets dithered out of her arms...!"

tRSSsssssst in meeeeee

If you get your news online, you've gotta check out RSS feeds (wikipedia). They allow you to gather news from all over the internet and read it in one place. I've made a feed for this site, so if you use Yahoo! News, Google Homepage, or any of the other RSS-enabled readers in the graphic, you can now pour The Gallon straight into your regular news page.

Click the to add this page to your RSS reader, or to learn more about what RSS can do for you. I don't know how I lived without it.

Me? I use Google Homepage (click on the "Personalize Home" link in the upper right corner of google.com while you are logged into GMail). I clicked on "add more to this page" , then searched for "The Gallon Race" and clicked "Add it Now."

Now my Google Homepage looks like this:


Swift