SMART cars tossed into canals no longer so smart

I've toyed with the idea of pricing a SMART car, but a recent article in the Amsterdam News has made me think twice about the idea.

Apparently, mischievous youth in the northern European city have found amusement in picking up the mini-cars and depositing them in nearby canals. Shades of the 1960s, when the VW Beetles of high school teachers were routinely carried up to the roofs of the schools by prankster students.

Dumping transportation devices in the canal is not a new or uncommon practice in Amsterdam. Locals claim the canals are made of equal parts water, mud and bicycles.

A local guide told one visitor that 100,000 bikes are stolen there each year, and 18,000 are fished out of the canals every six months.

The SMART car weighs 1,808 pounds, so I'm guessing that it would take a gang of 10 or more muscular teens to toss one. Seeing as any high school football team could form three or four such groups, I think the best strategy for a smart SMART owner is to avoid parking near bodies of water. They might also want to chain their car to a tree.

Or trade it in for a heavy old clunker.