Living In A 2006 Smart ForTwo Allowed This Woman To Retire At 65
Kai chose to live in her ForTwo because she wanted to retire at age 65, but, like many Americans, can't afford to do so while also waiting until she hits age 70 to collect the maximum allowance provided by Social Security. Her solution? Move into her car to save money. She's been living out of her 100-inch-long 2006 Smart ForTwo for over a year, and she seems to enjoy it despite the lack of a toilet or shower.
Read more: These Are What You Wanted As First Cars (And What You Got Instead)
A large portion of our lives is spent sleeping, and sleeping comfortably in a Smart car sounds impossible, but Kai says it's plenty comfortable for her. She folds the passenger seat flat, and stacks several inflatable sleeping pads on top of it. Kai stands 5-foot-5-inches tall and says she has plenty of space to comfortably sleep on her side since her sleeping arrangement provides three extra inches of space to spread out.
In order to hoist herself into her makeshift bed, she has to enter through the driver's side, turn her back to the passenger seat and brace her feet against the driver's door to push herself up on top of the pile of inflatable pads before kicking her feet toward the back window where she can stretch out. At least since she sleeps with her head near the windshield, she gets a great view of the stars every night.
This level of downsizing would be too drastic for most people, but not for former backpacker Kai. She is used to living minimally, which is a good thing since she lives without a bathroom, bedroom, traditional kitchen, or really any creature comfort that's provided by a house or even a studio apartment. Normally Kai takes care of bathroom duties out in nature, but since she appears to be set up in a desert, she says she's faced severe sand storms that force her to take care of business inside the car. When necessary, she sets a plastic bin that's lined with a trash bag on the driver's seat, sits in that and does her business in the tub into a plastic zipper bag that's filled with pine cat litter pellets. She refers to it as her emergency toilet.
To cook, Kai uses the Smart's fold-down tailgate as the cooking surface, where she has a kettle for water boiling and a single-burner alcohol stove that's fueled by isopropyl alcohol. She has one bin that can be used as a cool box, and she uses insulated water bottles for other things.
Kai has already lived out of her ForTwo for 14 months, and hopes to continue doing so until she hits the age of 70 and becomes eligible to receive her maximum Social Security benefits. While she seems to be just fine living out of her car, I believe it's unfortunate that people like her who have earned the right to retire have to turn to such extremes in order to live off of the government assistance program they've paid into their whole lives. But maybe I'm the extremist for holding such controversial views.
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
15 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump has momentum heading into Aug. 1 ‘reciprocal tariff' deadline after Asian trade deals, experts say
WASHINGTON — President Trump has 'leveraged American bargaining power' with three Asian nations this week — and given himself momentum ahead of the looming Aug. 1 deadline for most 'reciprocal tariffs,' experts predict. Trump secured Japan's agreement to pay a 15% tariff on exports to the US while making $550 billion in new investments in America in what he called a 'signing bonus' — while Indonesia and the Philippines said they would accept 19% tariffs on their goods while applying 0% tariffs on US products. 'I was a little bit surprised by the extent to which the US, at least at this stage of the game, has succeeded in striking what seems to me to be quite a hard bargain,' said Pravin Krishna, an economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 3 Experts say President Trump has 'leveraged American bargaining power' with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines this week — and given himself momentum ahead of the looming Aug. 1 deadline for most 'reciprocal tariffs.' AFP via Getty Images Robert Lawrence, an international trade professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, agreed, saying he was also left stunned that Trump roped in a large Japanese investment in addition to the tariff terms — likening it to his successful demand for a 'golden' US stake in this year's Nippon-US Steel merger deal. 'He's a wheeler-dealer, our president, needless to say, and he's kind of cutting these deals — but he has scared these people, and he's leveraged American bargaining power,' Lawrence said. 'The next one on the block is [South] Korea… for the Koreans, the auto issue is just about as important as for the Japanese.' Wilbur Ross, who served as Trump's commerce secretary during his first term and at one point expressed concern about administration emissaries potentially over-playing their hand, hailed Trump's trio of Asian deals. 'It's very important that people realize why he yoked the three together and announced them at the same time, and I think that's largely to send a message to China that their hope that his tough trade policy would somehow drive the Asian countries to China is simply incorrect,' Ross explained. 'I think the second importance of it is it puts tremendous pressure on the EU to make a deal because they have a great danger of being relatively isolated and relatively stuck with a worse deal.' Trump traveled to Scotland Friday and will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend to discuss averting a threatened 50% tariff. 3 President Trump secured a trade agreement with Japan to pay a 15% tariff on exports, while Indonesia and the Philippines will pay 19% tariffs on their goods, with US products not being tariffed. The president previously announced deals with Vietnam, which agreed to a 20% tariff — or 40% on items sourced in China — while breaking down barriers to US imports, as well as a UK deal that features a 10% tariffs — with British steel and car exports also paying 10% rather than Trump's much higher sectoral tariffs, in exchange for promises to open UK markets to American ethanol, beef and chicken. China, meanwhile, brokered a cease-fire with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — with the US applying a 30% rate on Chinese goods and China applying a 10% rate on American imports. Meanwhile, the impact of Trump's tariffs — which also include 50% on foreign steel and aluminum and 25% on foreign cars — have been slighter than anticipated thus far on inflation, with the annual increase in consumer prices 2.7% in June. 'The same 'experts' that were loudly spewing doomsday predictions are now quietly looking at their portfolios and planning their early retirement or vacation home purchases,' said Arthur Schwartz, a Republican operative with close ties to the administration. Major challenges remain on the horizon for Trump, however, and academics remain divided on the merits of higher tariffs now padding federal coffers. Krishna, the Hopkins economist, said questions remain about whether the Asian nations that just agreed to steep terms are able to ratify them politically due to the fact that Trump seems to have secured such lopsided terms. He also said that India — initially expected to be one of the first nations to ink a trade deal — faces notable trade-talk road bumps due to the potentially devastating effects on poor farmers who comprise about 45% of the labor force. 'It's a very sensitive sector for India. The Modi government itself, a few years ago, tried some reasonably market-oriented reforms in the agricultural sector.. and they were unable to push that through,' he said. 'That is an extremely challenging thing for the Indian government to manage politically,' Krishna said. 'You're talking about survival-level incomes for a large number of farmers. And to mess with that would be, again, politically challenging and even morally questionable from an Indian standpoint. 3 The US is currently charging China a 30% tariff rate on Chinese goods, while they are charging a 10% rate on American imports. AP Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'It really is a question of how much of a change the US wants in terms of reduction of protectionism and so on, and how much India's willing to give up,' he added. It's also unclear how talks with China will end — with the temporary deal set to expire in mid-August, though it may be extended. 'There's a real question whether we will make a deal with [China],' Ross said. 'It's hard for me to imagine that they're going to make very big concessions, and meanwhile, we're collecting very high tariffs. So it's not so clear to me that there's a big, compelling motive for President Trump to make a deal.' China also may be politically constrained by an upcoming Communist Party congress next month and a housing crash that has sapped the nation economically, Ross noted. Lawrence, of Harvard, said that the disruption of Trump's trade wars remains worrying for certain US industries — with carmakers General Motors and Stellantis reporting quarterly income slumps this week — and that he's skeptical of an ensuing boom in US manufacturing employment. 'I personally think it's damaging our economy … We have to be competitive to make sales abroad, not to bludgeon people through threats of tariffs. That's not the way you win friends, and it's also not the way you retain customers,' he said. But Lawrence noted that Trump's delays in implementing 'reciprocal' tariffs initially announced on April 2 likely make them more palatable for the American public and less stinging on their budgets. 'By dragging out the process, it's kind of like the famous boiling of the frog who doesn't quite notice it. [If the] net effect of these tariffs would be to raise the consumer price index by one percentage point or even two, that would be a huge increase, right? But if I told you it was take place over a couple of years, it is going to work out to half a point, or less a fraction each month. Are you going to notice it itself?' he said. 'From the standpoint of, 'How do you want to distribute the shocks?' I think… whether it's negotiating strategy or it's dithering or it's intuition, it actually serves to cushion the blow.'
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Volkswagen suffers $1.5 billion loss from Trump's tariffs
President Donald Trump's tariffs cost German auto giant Volkswagen about $1.5 billion over the first half of 2025, the company said on Friday. Sales in North America plunged 16% due primarily to U.S. tariffs, said Volkswagen, which owns a host of brands including Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche. The company warned of further 'challenges' that will arise from 'an environment of political uncertainty, expanding trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions,' among other factors. Volkswagen marks the latest in a string of major carmakers to announce billions in tariff-related losses. MORE: Trump admin live updates: White House maneuver keeps Habba as top NJ prosecutor General Motors on Tuesday said tariffs on cars and auto parts drove $1.1 billion in losses over three months ending in June. A day earlier, Jeep maker Stellantis said it expects to have suffered $2.7 billion in losses over the first half of 2025 due in part to U.S. tariffs. Electric-vehicle maker Tesla this week reported a roughly $3 billion drop in revenue over three months ending in June when compared to the same period a year earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, Tesla touted a "strong balance sheet" but acknowledged a "sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs." Tariffs of 25% on vehicles imported into the United States went into effect on April 2. The auto tariffs, which apply to cars and auto parts, threaten to raise costs for carmakers that often oversee an intricate supply chain snaked between the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond. In a memo in March, the White House touted auto tariffs as a means of bolstering domestic car manufacturers and protecting an industry viewed as important to U.S. national security. The policy, the White House said, will "protect and strengthen the U.S. automotive sector." Volkswagen currently faces total US tariffs of 27.5%, the company said, combining the recent 25% auto tariff on top of preexisting 2.5% tariffs. The company said it expects a worst-case scenario of current tariff levels over the second half of 2025, while in a best-case scenario tariffs could be reduced to 10%. 'There is high uncertainty about further developments with regard to the tariffs, their impact and any reciprocal effects,' Volkswagen said. A trade agreement struck between the U.S. and Japan this week dropped auto tariffs from the universal level of 25% to 15%, putting foreign carmakers in other countries at a disadvantage. The U.S. and European Union are near a deal that would also bring tariffs on European goods down to 15%, the Financial Times reported this week. Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on the EU to 30% on Aug. 1, unless the two sides reach a trade agreement. MORE: What to know about Trump's Aug. 1 tariff deadline Despite rising tariff-related costs for automakers, price hikes for new cars have remained low. Car prices rose 0.6% in June compared to a year earlier, registering well below the overall inflation rate of 2.7%. In general, tariff-induced inflation has fallen short of economists' fears in part because companies stockpiled products before the tariffs took effect, allowing them to temporarily avert the higher cost of importing goods, analysts previously told ABC News. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Germany's biggest carmaker suffers £1.1bn hit from Trump tariffs
Donald Trump's tariffs have dealt a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) blow to Volkswagen after the German car giant's portfolio of luxury brands suffered a drop in sales. Marques such as Porsche and Bentley have been hit by the US president's sanctions on foreign vehicles, which impose a 27.5pc tax on cars imported from Europe. Britain has struck a deal with Mr Trump to reduce the tariff to 10pc, but the larger penalty remains in place for the European Union, which is still locked in talks with the White House. On Friday, VW said the tariffs added €1.3bn to its costs in the first half of 2025 and that it could add billions more still, because there was no guarantee of a deal between Washington and Brussels. Oliver Blume, the carmaker's chief executive, said: 'We cannot assume that the tariff situation is only temporary. 'We are counting on the European Commission and the US government to reach a balanced outcome on the tariff issue.' VW's luxury brands have been hit the hardest by the levies, results published on Friday showed. Profits in the company's 'progressive' stable of marques, which includes Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley, halved in the first six months of the year, while the 'sports luxury' segment – which mainly consists of Porsche – tumbled by more than two thirds. That was after Porsche sales fell by 11pc to around 135,000 cars. 'High uncertainty' VW warned: 'There is high uncertainty about further developments with regard to the tariffs, their impact and any reciprocal effects.' This gloomy outlook has led to the company slashing its prediction for 2025 sales. It now expects no change from last year, compared to an earlier forecast of 5pc growth. The blow from tariffs comes at a difficult time for VW, which is already carrying out a major restructuring to cope with the transition to electric cars. It is cutting tens of thousands of jobs across the group and even contemplated shutting factories in Germany as part of the shake-up. At the same time, VW and other Western carmakers are haemorrhaging market share in China, where domestically made electric vehicles and hybrid manufacturers such as BYD are becoming increasingly dominant. These Chinese rivals are also embroiled in a cut-throat price war at home. The turmoil has been particularly painful for VW, which previously relied on China for one third of its sales and a substantial portion of its profits. As recently as 2019, the German giant controlled 20pc of the country's car market, but that has since fallen to 15pc. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.