Watch out for the Smart car

The Smart Roadster has the design, inherent power and all the accoutrements of the sports car.

IT'S not often that the manufacturer of cheap plastic watches can cause a fuss in the world of motoring, but that's exactly what the Swatch company did in the not too dim past when they boldly proposed to build their own cars.

Indeed it was only 1989 when Nicholas Hayek, the Lebanese industrialist behind Swatch, came up with the Smart concept, which was basically the automotive equivalent of his watches cheap and cheerful.