About a year ago, global auto brand Daimler decided to end the sale of Smart cars in the U.S. We were sad to see the fun-to-drive (and park!) microcars leave the market, but it wasn’t a surprise in the era of the SUV and crossover. After that move, we didn’t expect to hear about the Smart brand ever again.
Then on Wednesday morning, a pint-sized Smart car appeared in the most unlikely of places: a high-speed police chase.
As Fox 10 Phoenix reported, police from the town of Gilbert, Arizona “responded to reports of a suspicious man screaming in the parking lot of a Walmart.” When they arrived, the man got into his Smart Fortwo and took off, refusing to pull over, running red lights and leading to a full-blown freeway chase.
What does a Smart car look like when it’s outrunning police? Like this:
It must be said that — despite the long history of real-life police chases in the U.S. and the cinematic ones from The Blues Brothers to Gone in 60 Seconds — no police chase is a good one. They put lives in danger and should not be praised, full stop.
That said, the absolute absurdity of a Smart car outrunning police is too rare to ignore. Although, “outrun” is not quite accurate. Even though police backed off on the freeway, they eventually caught up with the driver in a less dangerous environment.
UPDATE: DPS pit-maneuvered the Smart car that fled Gilbert PD. 1 male in custody. No injuries. pic.twitter.com/YXBdciJPHP
— jonathan roy (@JRFox10) April 22, 2020
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