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American motorists have never seen anything quite so small. The Smart car has arrived in a land weaned on enormous automobiles, prompting bemusement and enthusiasm in equal measures.
The first few US buyers are due to take ownership of their Smart cars - and Daimler, the brand's owner, hopes to tap into a new-found environmental awareness among drivers.
"If you go 10 years back, neither you nor I would ever have dreamed of bringing Smart to the US," Smart's global boss, Anders Jensen, said at the Detroit motor show. "This was a country where big was beautiful, where trucks and pick-ups dominated, where gasoline was cheaper than water."
But, he said, the market is changing: "The environment is now part of the agenda. Americans are learning very, very quickly that small vehicles are safe, that small vehicles are comfortable."
The Smart car was conceived by Nicolas Hayek, the founder of the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch, who initially co-developed it with Daimler. More than 770,000 have been sold.
The car's US launch has created a buzz - 30,000 people have put down $99 deposits on the $11,590 vehicle and the company says it is sold out until the end of the year. The US media has lapped it up, describing it variously as a "breadbox on wheels", a "cuddly cartoon character" and a "funky charmer".
Daimler sees the Smart car as a substantially cheaper competitor to conscience-friendly vehicles such as the hybrid electric Toyota Prius, which has sold more than 500,000 units in the US and boasted 69 per cent growth last year.
Analysts are positive about Smart's prospects. The car even passed muster when tested by Udonis Haslem, a forward for the Miami Heat basketball team who succeeded in folding his 2.04m frame inside.
But not everybody is convinced. When a New York Times reporter took a Smart out for a test drive in Manhattan, a police officer advised him to "get a real car". Others have questioned the car's safety among America's thundering herds - at 1,600lb a Smart FourTwo is a quarter of a Hummer's weight.
Jensen is unmoved. "It's fine to have a vehicle which polarises a bit - it shows it's got personality."
Smart USA's president, David Schembri, maintains that positive reactions far outweigh the negative ones. He has been driving a Smart around Los Angeles for months: "I'm not sure how many other consumer products are validated by so many smiles and thumbs-up signs."
