Perhaps the biggest difference between the Smart car
snowmobile and more traditional snowmobiles is comfort.
The interior of the cars remains the same as when they rolled
off the factory floor with the steering wheel, gear stick and
pedals unchanged. Another benefit is that they don’t have to
strap on a helmet and bundle up in layers and layers of winter
gear to hop on a snowmobile; they simply hop in their Smart
car, buckle up and go.
“The biggest comfort is the warmth,” said White, whose
wife, Lune, is originally from the Philippines and is a big fan
of their converted Smart car. “She loves it because it’s warm.
“Plus, you can turn on your music and you’ve got wiper
blades and all that stuff, and there’s no snow or wind to deal
with. And there’s lots of storage space. You wouldn’t believe
the amount of room that’s in the back of that thing. You
got no problem to put your cooler back there and a couple
of sleeping bags and a couple of cases of beer. We’ve got no
problem taking whatever we need.”
The beauty of the conversion process, according to
Humphries, is the fact that it’s fully reversible.
“In about three hours I can have my car converted and
back on the road,” he said. “All you have to do is put your ro-tors
and callipers back on the front end. After that, you take
off your front skis and your back tracks and put on your tires
and you’re ready for the road again.”
Humphries and White – who is planning to convert a
second Smart car he recently purchased – have become lo-cal
celebrities thanks to the attention their unique rides
have attracted. They were recently featured on CBC’s The
National and they’ve received calls from across Canada and
even the U.S. from people wanting to know more about
the conversions.
“Yeah, I guess in a way we have become celebrities. There’s
lots of people calling and asking questions and wanting to
know about the cars. Right now it’s not too bad, but it’s not
something I want to be doing every day,” White said, laughing.
Although they have yet to hear from any snowmobiling or
cross-country ski clubs, Humphries says the Smart car snow-mobile
could be ideal for groups that need to assist members
who might require help on a remote trail and to ensure rules
and regulations are being followed by users.
“Oh yeah, it would be fantastic for that,” he said.
Even though Humphries says he’s enjoying all of the atten-tion
his vehicle has received, he’s not interested in turning it
into anything more than a hobby.
“No, not for me. I work in Nunavut about eight months of the
year. I don’t want to see any more snow,” he said, laughing.
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“It handles fantastic. No
problem at all.”
– Jeff Humphries
snowopsmag.com | SnowOps 13
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