What’s so smart about it?

The name smart came from a combination of Swatch, Mercedes and the word “art”.  The company also markets the cars with the brand and model name in lowercase to emphasize their small size.

The smart car was invented by Nicolas Hayek, the inventor of Swatch watches in partnership with Mercedes and went under the name, Micro Compact Car.  They were first unveiled at the Frankfort Motor Show in 1997.  Now totally owned by Mercedes, the name changed to smart car and is produced in Hambach, France at their “Smartville” plant.

 
                         Bebe’s Timeline

March 2003 – Take my first trip to Italy to celebrate a significant birthday.  See smart cars for the first time – they are so cute, would love to have one.

March 2005 – second trip to Italy – 10 Women for 10 Days.  A painting trip that takes me to several towns in the Tuscany region.  More smart cars sighted – still love them.

September 2007 – put in my reservation for a smart car – I hear that it can take up to a year to arrive.

March 2007 – third trip to Italy – Still love those smarties!  I can’t wait for mine to arrive.

February 2008 – drive to Cary, NC (the closest smart car dealership) to test drive one of the smart cars.  I figure I’d better make sure I enjoy driving it before it arrives.  Took my mother with me, it’s cold, rainy and windy.  If the car can pass this test drive, I’ll be happy.  Piece of cake – went for a drive on the highway, had huge tractor-trailers passing me by without any problems.

March 2008 – get notification that it is time to configure my smart car – now it’s time to tell them exactly what I want.  Definitely a convertible.

April 2008 – first trip to Germany, Switzerland and PARIS!  Lots of smart sightings – is it my imagination, or have they gotten even more adorable?  Glad I have put in my order for my own smartie.  Saw several cars with really cute wraps and know this is what I want to do with mine when it finally arrives.

April 2008 – Start thinking about a wrap for the car - go through my painting portfolio of images to consider.  It’s important to me to have a painting that shows my environment.  I do lots of paintings from my travels, but Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach is the image I want the world to see.  I love where I live and want to show it off.  I’ve decided to use a painting I did from the 3^rd floor porch of the Hanover Seaside Club.  It is a great view of the Crystal Pier, showing the colorful umbrellas on the beach, the pier and the jetty beyond with a sailboat passing through the inlet.  This says “home” to me.

June 2008 – September 2008 – have many emails back and forth with my salesman, Joe Lynch from smart car, Cary.  Joe’s been great, never puts me off, but gives me whatever updates that he has.  I am getting anxious – can’t wait for my car!

October 24, 2008 – YEA! My car has arrived from France – sure was a slow boat.  I drive up to Cary on Friday to pick up my car.  Everyone at the dealership was great, very friendly and helpful.  Within a couple of hours I’m on my way home to Wilmington.  Once again, a rainy, windy day.  No problems on I-40, tried to keep my speed at 70-75 but found myself creeping up to 80.  No shimmy at all on the highway, very smooth ride.  Lots of looks and smiles from the other drivers.  I spend part of the drive trying to see what name my new ride should have.  I know it’s a girl…but what name suits her?  I keep thinking about different names and the phrase “to be” keeps running through my mind.  Suddenly it hits me – “to be” = 2 B’s = BB = Bebe.  I say it several times and yes, it fits her.  I also think it sounds kind of French, and that’s appropriate since that’s where she was born.

November 2008 – I go to the folks at Image Monster here in Wilmington to see about a wrap for Bebe.  I have chosen one of my paintings, which was sold at Spectrum Art & Jewelry, where I am the gallery manager.  I called the woman who had bought it and she let me borrow the painting to have it scanned at Image Monster.  Zach, their head of graphics worked closely with me to tweak the design to fit Bebe.  My husband, Russ and I take a trip to Florida to visit friends and Star, the owner of Spectrum Art & Jewelry, drives Bebe over to be wrapped.  They did a great job, I love it.  As I drive away, I see people taking out their cell phones and taking pictures.

Bebe gets even more notice as time goes by.  I get stopped frequently with questions about the car, the wrap and why did I do this.

That’s an easy question to answer.  As an artist, it is always important to get people to look at your work.  I want viewers to go to my website, www.artsmartcar.com, which is printed on all sides of Bebe.  There they can see my paintings and also link to www.SpectrumArtandJewelry.com to see more of my artworks and where the entire gallery of fine artists we represent can be found.   

My goal is to find a creative way to stand out from the crowd.  As a small, locally owned business, it has never been more important to find innovative, creative and fun ways to drive traffic to our store.  It is my desire for the public to view art as something they encounter in their everyday lives.  I want them to see the beauty in their surroundings, recognizing that “art” is everywhere.  And if I can make someone smile…that’s the icing on the cake.

                                                                     

Nancy Noel May
info@artsmartcar.com