Friday Chuckle: Smart E-Bike

While I was covering the Canadian International Auto Show this year, I was trying to take a few detailed shots of the brand new Smart bike. At the time there were cars being unveiled in that area and I couldn't get in close enough without someone being in my photos.

The schedule was pretty brisk with each manufacturer kicking off their new cars every 15 minutes so I didn't get to go back to the Smart booth until the very end of the day. At this point people are cleaning any fingerprints off the vehicles and making sure the displays are immaculate for opening day the next morning. This late in the day, the auto show is eager to send straggling reporters home and shoo us off the floor so I only had time for a few photos.

This area of the show was pretty deserted and there was only one person at the Smart booth. As I was lining up the photo to the right, and trying not to get his feet in the background, the man switches off the vacuum and approaches me.

"Let's see the photo" he asks nicely. I show him on the back of the camera and he nods his approval. He then goes on to tell me all about the drivetrain and how Smart also is coming out with pedal-boats that have a 1:4 power ratio to each stroke. I was a little surprised at this point as most late-afternoon hired help looked to be college kids hoping to make a buck or two cleaning. Who was this man with so much actual knowledge of Smart's product line? Before I could respond he had collected up his vacuum and disappeared. Was he the ghost of the Smart booth? The CEO himself? A Google search says "No", but I was appreciative regardless and wonder if I'll ever see him again?