Size Matters

Now don't get me wrong, this is not a sexy article comparing car size,
with, um intellect. Let me set you straight, it's not about the size
of the car. Actually it's all about fuel consumption and how you can
nip in to parking spaces SUV drivers only dream about.
You've seen them on the street, the flower power cars. Usually small,
usually driven by women, these tiny carriers sport flowers on their
aerials. Why? Is it a way of harnessing bee power? Or solar energy?
Photosynthesis happening in your engine as we speak? If only we could
power our cars with sun beams. Actually we could but those pesky oil
companies tend to get in the way. Is the flower power pack indicative
of the level of affection that people have for their tiny cars, or is
it so they can find them in the parking at the mall? I asked one
person why, and got the stock answer of Goths and teenagers. To be
different.  Alrightly then, so the fact that there's a pack of these
little flower power followers should be seen as a bold attempt to buck
conformity. We're all for that.
Well when you are driving the same car as hundreds of other people
it's nice to be able to find your baby, but do you have to give her a
cutesy name? I recently got envious of a car even smaller than mine,
because it has five doors and negligible fuel consumption.  A Daihatsu
Charade disgorged four people, of normal size and its owner enthused
about the fuel consumption. I just like the idea of having extra
doors, and a tiny engine that runs on the same amount of fuel as in
the average cocktail.  The other cool and cute aspect of the little
ones is the ease of parking, I watched a woman in a tank doing the
vloeking thing over her power steering. Sorry bokkie, next time trade
in the extra two metre for a tiny town terror.  Cars in this class
include the Hyundai Atoz, the Smart which is on a different economic
level to the rest of this article, the Chevrolet Spark and the Ford
Ka. All deliver great fuel economy and reasonable safety. And the
flower is optional.