On Earth Day, April 22, Keith and Sylvie Rowand rolled up to the Rappahannock News looking very green in their new Smart car.

According to the company, the Smart Fortwo Passion gets 33 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.

The car's high gas mileage is a result of its small size. The Passion is just 61 inches wide and 106 inches long – it almost fits in the bed of a pickup truck.

"It looks small, but I can fit a fair amount in there," Sylvie said. She has a catering business and has been able to fit all the dishes, centerpieces and other dinnerware in the car's trunk and on the passenger seat. The Rowands also own a station wagon and pickup truck.

The Smart car comfortably seats two people and, according to Car and Driver magazine, has about the same legroom and headroom as a Cadillac Escalade.

The Rowands bought the Smart car three weeks ago at a Mercedes dealership in Tysons Corner.

However, they have been waiting for it since about a year ago when they put down a refundable $99 deposit for the vehicle. According to Car and Driver, some 30,000 Americans have put down a deposit for the cars.

"The importer actually said he has a waiting list," Sylvie said.

People think of it as an urban car, Sylvie said, but it has worked fine for them and they live in Harris Hollow. There isn't much traffic in Rappahannock and the car is fast enough to keep up on local roads.

"I brought it back from [the dealership] on I-66 and had no problem keeping up with traffic," Keith said.

"It's a great little car for commuting," Sylvie added.

The car has turned plenty of heads on the road, in parking lots and at gas stations.

"The car is still new to a lot of people, so you get a lot of smiles," Sylvie said.

And a lot of people have approached the Rowands to ask questions about the car.

"The first question is never about safety," Sylvie said. "The first question is, 'What is the mileage?' and 'How fast does it go?' "

They paid $15,998 for the car, which is a mid-range price for a Smartcar. They thought about buying a hybrid, but decided the savings in gas would not offset the difference in the prices of the cars.

Besides, with the Smart car, they have the cachet of being the first in the neighborhood to own one.

"I am a car nut," Keith said. "At least for the next few months, I can be the first kid on the block for not a lot of money."