We recently had the opportunity to put a system in a smart car, the eagerly anticipated two-seater that is scheduled to debut soon at U.S. dealers. Our research team measured it stem to stern, so we will have the complete stereo fit information available when the cars start arriving in showrooms. And we will have a feature presentation on it in early May. Meanwhile, here's a sneak preview.
UPDATE, Feb 12: We have learned that the stereo setup in this privately imported car is not the same as what we will see in the U.S. version. Please read the comments below.
The owner of this smart fortwo passion coupe wanted a flip-up video screen, so we installed the Pioneer AVIC-N4 DVD receiver/navigation system. To make the car a little smarter, we also installed the XM tuner with NavTraffic™, a Bluetooth® adapter, and an iPod® adapter. We discovered that the Pioneer's flip-up screen bumped into the windshield wiper control stalk, so we popped the rounded end-cap off of the stalk and put in a flat one that we had laying around the shop.
This smart car takes 4" speakers in the dash. Since there are no rear speakers, bass is sorely lacking. So we put an 8" Bazooka subwoofer in the small cargo area behind the seats. It can be easily removed when the space is needed for something else.
Posted
Fri, Feb 1 2008 1:01 PM
by
Jim R