Churubusco residents find that itty-bitty car gets big time attention
(Talk of the Town photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Above, Bob and Janice Parquet of Churubusco stand near their church in Columbia City. Their new car, a Smart Car, has gotten a lot of attention recently as one of just a few of the cars on local roadways. Below, the little car has an advantage in busy parking lots -- enabling the Parquets to find a parking spot almost anywhere -- including this spot at Portside Pizza, Tri Lakes, on a busy night recently.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Passersby on the street stop and stare. They get flagged down by passing motorists. Everyone wants a closer look at Bob and Janice Parquet’s new car.
This spring, the Parquets, of Churubusco, became the first local owners of a Smart Car.
The tiny car, just big enough for two people and a few items in the trunk, is the result of a joint venture by Swatch, the Swiss watchmaker, and Mercedes-Benz. As a DaimlerChrysler brand, the cars made their US debut in the first quarter of 2008. 
The Smart Car has a compact 1.0 L, 71 horsepower three cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission.
Just 5.1 feet wide, 5.1 feet tall and 8.8 feet in length, the Smart Car is teensy weensy – particularly when you see one sitting next to a mammoth SUV in a local parking lot. It’s littleness has a lot to do with the attention its been getting locally, but when people ask the Parquets about their new car, they learn there’s more to it than its size.
In addition to being a cute, little car, it also boasts great fuel-efficiency – something the Parquets are already enjoying. Just six weeks after purchasing their car, they found they were already driving their other vehicles less and less – and enjoying great gas mileage as well. According to the company’s website, www.smartusa.com, the car is estimated to achieve 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.
Offering alluring features to the green-going customer, the plastic panels on the car’s body are all recyclable, the three main car colors (black, yellow and white) utilize water-solluble paint and the car has been classified as an ultra low emission vehicle, according to the company’s website.
The price range on the car begins in the $11,000s on up to a more souped-up version in the $16,000s.
At the invitation of the Parquets, sitting inside the car, you find it is much roomier than you might expect. Now that their new car has become such an attraction in local parking lots and along streets, they’ve met a lot of great people as a result and are enjoying the opportunity to share their car with others, pointing out unique features and giving many their first, up close opportunity to check one out.
In getting to know the Parquets new car, one of the first things you’ll find out is that in addition to bursting with personality, the bright yellow car also has a name – just call him Maxwell Smart.
On Thursday, Parquet said he had talked to the eleventh person in the area to get one earlier that day. Just over two months ago, when the Parquets first got their car from a dealer in Indianapolis, it was one of the only ones on the road in Northeast Indiana. But, the popularity of the little car is spreading.
“It’s getting to the point now where we’re not the only one around,” Bob Parquet said. The Parquets may have been the only ones in Whitley County to have one for just a few weeks – last week a white one was spotted zipping around downtown Columbia City.