I’m currently on vacation and have enjoyed seeing what kind of cars are in other countries but not in the United States. Today I am in Montevideo, Uruguay. While taking an afternoon stroll, I happened to pass an auto dealership with a vehicle that looked very similar to a Smart Car, so I stopped in to get more information.

The car is the Noble, and it’s a Chinese-made car from the Shuanghuan Auto. Like I said, it looks quite similar to the Smart Car. It’s about the same size and also comes in similar color schemes. I talked to an employee there, and he gave me a brochure with the specs:

• Comes in three models and six colors
• 1.0 liter, 1.1 liter engines
• Max Speed: 77 mph, 87 mph
• Torque: 53 ft-lbs, 65 ft-lbs
• Fuel Efficiency (@ 25 mph): 97 mpg, 105 mpg

The employee told me the price was about $17,000 USD, but a little browsing on the internet showed that the price will vary depending on the country.

That’s not all, apparently the car was designed to be a knock-off of the Smart Car. I guess that explains why I thought it was a Smart Car! Chinese manufacturers have done well at cloning desirable products. Just look at the Apple iPhone and the iClone.

For a knock-off, I was quite impressed with this car. It looked nice, and the interior was impressive. Of course I didn’t take it for a drive, but I imagine that’s where the biggest differences will be between it and the Smart Car.