Photo of Rachel Nabors

Hi, I'm Rachel Nabors, and these are my real-life adventures with my new smart car, Roxi.

smart car meets fish: the “Black Orchid”

I entered a smart car design contest with a design named for a breed of Siamese fighting fish called the “black orchid crown tail” and inspired by Mexican skull candy, orchid blossoms, deep sea fish, and Japanese manga artist Junko Mizuno’s work. By all means have a look and let me know what you think!

Fun with snow: Driving my smart car in winter weather

I didn’t think I would have the chance to write about driving in snow this year, considering how little of it we’ve been having in the past couple of winters. But I have been driving my smart car in not one but at least two snow showers in the past month!

New year in my (still rather new) smart car

I have been horribly remiss in my duties! After Halloween, I took some time to carefully wash and detail my smart car. I took pictures and made detailed account of the process and everything. I was just about to post all this in a “clean up your car before winter!” article, then Thanksgiving hit. Then [...]

Tall people love smart cars, too! Just ask Danny Clark, linebacker for the New York Giants.

Normally I’m not into football, but now if anyone asks if I have a favorite player, I will answer affirmatively that Danny Clark and I are united by our smart cars!

It’s a Martha Stewart Halloween, smart car!

These motorcycle helmet ears attach via suction cups to a smooth surface.

It’s a smart car Halloween! I’ve kitted Roxi out with a pair of devil horns and a tail, and we’re up to mischief. Plus, learn how to make your own feather wreath and join us for some Halloween treats!

Guilty pleasures: heated seats

I never wanted heated seats. They seemed so extravagant. But I got stuck with them when I bought my smart car. Little did I realize how much I would come to depend on the “butt warmer” in the fall.

Love those brakes: How my smart car handles on wet roads in the rain

I used to hate driving in the rain in my old Ford station wagon with her less than effective brakes. But now that I have a smart car, will I feel safe enough to sit back and enjoy the weather? Roxi the smart car shows the power of her braking system!

smart car Road Trip Soundtrack

One of the first things I did when I bought Roxi was I meticulously went about burning music to play in my new smart car, creating the best driving soundtrack I could to embody the joys of riding in my first car. I’ve been wanting to share these songs with other drivers for some time now, but I didn’t want to post MP3s for download. Then I found out about a site called Grooveshark which lets me create, save and embed playlists. At last I can share the Ultimate smart car Driving Soundtrack! Enjoy!

How the smart car helped me make peace with the iphone

I’ll be honest. I don’t like iphones. Or Macs. Or even Helvetica (mostly because it’s overused in logos and branding).
Here is why I feel this way:

People automatically assume that because I am a designer, I must be a Mac user.
I have had very unpleasant interactions with designers who held that one could not really be [...]

Fake ’smart car’ crash picture

The so-called "smart car crash" doesn

A circulating picture of a “smart car crash” with two trucks turns out to be a fake, a hoax, and at the very least, not a smart car!