It's 5 p.m. on Ga. 400, peak hour for road rage. Insults, obscenities and pure frustration abound in bumper-to-bumper traffic. But not for Jerry Attkisson.

He's in rush-hour nirvana.

Alison Church/AJC Special (ENLARGE)

Jeremy Scott, a self-employed plumber, sits in his Smart car near his job site in Virginia-Highland. He commutes to Atlanta in his Smart and leaves his large plumber van on site at various jobs.

Moni Basu/AJC (ENLARGE)

Jerry Attkisson's Smart reminds him of a puppy. That's why he sticks a foam tongue in the grill.

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Smiling passers-by give him a love toot, signal a thumbs-up and even get out their cellphones to snap a quick photo. Attkisson, 66, feels warm and fuzzy inside.

That's because he's driving smart — as in Smart car, the first micro car to hit the streets of America and still a novelty in Atlanta.

"I call it my eco car," he says. "It's economical. And ecological."

Given the slate of global woes these days — climate change, pollution, congestion and crude oil sticker shock — the Smart feels right for the times, he says.

But, uh, there's another thing. Vanity.

Smart instantly bestows celebrity on its driver.

"I like people looking at me," Attkisson says, grinning.

Not just on the highways and byways but in the parking lot of Kroger or at a Midtown Starbucks, where Attkisson has cleverly parked his car perpendicular to the street. Three Smarts could fit in a parallel-parking spot meant for a normal-size car, he points out.

"Oh, it's just so cute!" gushes Shelia Skinner of Decatur, as she watches Attkisson stick a foam rubber tongue on his grill because the car is his puppy love.

If it were just the green factor, Attkisson could have bought a Toyota Prius. But Smart is fresh, cool, tiny.

It feels as exciting as when the iconic Beetle first arrived in America amid a sea of tail-finned Cadillacs. That's why Attkisson, a real estate investor and fund-raiser, was among the first to buy a Smart in Atlanta.

Is it really that smart?

Emily Stubbs, sales manager at Buckhead's Smart Center, the only dealership in Georgia, says trendy is the primary reason people buy the toy-like cars.

"Some people don't even care what it's going to do for their carbon footprint," said Stubbs, who says strangers have been known to get in people's Smart cars just to gawk.

Others ask: "Where is the rest of your car?"

Stubbs even sold a car to a customer who bought it for a child's bedroom.

So far, she's sold 250 cars. The wait to get one in Atlanta is about 14 months with a $99 reservation fee.

If you've traveled to Europe, you've seen Smarts everywhere, tucked into tight spaces in central London and Paris. They began selling stateside in January.

But for all their tininess, they can cost a pretty penny.

Stubbs says a basic Pure Fortwo model starts at about $12,000, but that's with manual windows, no radio or air-conditioning. Impossible in Atlanta.

There's a medium range Passion model and the upscale Passion Cabriolet, which can cost about $21,000. A souped-up model in the showroom that boasted a stylish body kit, twin exhaust system, custom leather seats, Bluetooth navigation, XM radio and iPod hookup carried a price tag of (get ready) $34,905.

Mike Quincy, an automotive content consultant at Consumer Reports, says researchers are still testing the Smart, but that cost was an issue.

The gas mileage, too, is a factor.

The estimated EPA mileage is 33 in the city and 41 on the highway, comparable to other small cars.

"The fuel economy is not blowing us away," Quincy said. "But the Smart is ... the anti-SUV. It's the anti-gas guzzler."

NASCAR cage protection

Bottom line: Size matters.

Self-employed plumber Jeremy Scott, 32, purchased a basic Fortwo model to commute 65 miles from his home in Franklin to downtown Atlanta.

Scott said he was concerned about the Smart's safety and followed crash test results closely. The car is only 8 feet long and weighs a mere 1,800 pounds. Doesn't stand a chance against a Mac truck.

But neither did his pickup, Scott figured.

Two weeks ago, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Smart its highest ratings for front and side crash protection. Stubbs says one reason is the steely strong NASCAR cage that the car is built around.

Still, Atlantans might think twice about driving a teensy-weensy thing into Spaghetti Junction. Take a look back and there's nothing there except the giant tires of an 18-wheeler inches from your head. Sobering, to say the least.

Even Attkisson admits to that as he puts pedal to the metal, zipping from lane to lane on Ga. 400. The Smart can go up to 90 mph, though it takes a wee bit longer to get there than, say, a BMW.

It doesn't feel small on the inside, more like sitting in a Honda Accord. And it's so pretty — a sunroof lets the sunshine in. Even Smart's name is all about the aesthetics.

The "S" stands for Swatch. The watch company designed the car. The "m" stands for Mercedes-Benz, manufacturer of the Smart. That leaves "art." It's the only car currently in production that's on display at the Museum of Modern Art.

The car, it seems, puts teeth into economist E.F. Schumacher's words: "Man is small, and therefore small is beautiful."

If you ask Attkisson, small is beautiful — and now also Smart.

HOW SMART CAR COMPARES

SMART FORTWO

(Compact coupe)

Length: 106.1 in.

Width: 61.4 in.

Height: 60.7 in.

Curb weight: 1808 pounds

Fuel tank capacity: 8.7 gallons

EPA mileage estimates: 33 mpg (city) / 41 mpg (highway)

HONDA FIT

(Compact sedan)

Length: 157.4 inches

Width: 66.2 inches

Height: 60 inches

Curb weight: 2551 pounds

Fuel tank capacity: 10.8 gallons

EPA mileage estimates: 27 mpg / 33 mpg

TOYOTA PRIUS

(Compact sedan hybrid)

Length: 175 in. or 14.6 feet

Width: 67.9 in.

Height: 58.7 in.

Curb weight: 2932 pounds

Fuel tank: 11.9 gallons

EPA mileage estimates: 48 mpg/ 45 mpg

HUMMER H2

Length: 189.8 inches

Width: 81.2 inches

Height: 79.2 inches

Curb weight: 6614 pounds

Fuel tank: 32 gallons

EPA mileage estimates: 13 mpg / 16 mpg

CADILLAC STS

Length: 196.7 inches

Width: 72.6 inches

Height: 57.6 inches

Curb weight: 3,995 pounds

Fuel tank: 17 gallons

EPA mileage estimates: 15 mpg / 24 mpg