Noticed yesterday that Car2GO has deployed in Minneapolis. These are super cute little smart cars people can rent by the hour. Love the idea!

I live in the Seward neighborhood and this was the first time I’d ever seen or heard of these cars even though they’ve been rolling out in the city since September. We counted 5 parked Car2GOs at various locations and they seemed to just appear out of thin air – including right in front of my house. This seemed like a lame “awareness” marketing ploy to me.

But I found out through Twitter and Facebook that they distribute these smart cars all over town and you use a smartphone app to locate where they are when you need to use them.

Love the idea, but I’m not entirely sure this is going to work if the cars are randomly scattered all over the city, rather than have designated areas – not unlike the Nice Ride bike sharing program. Before I realized their distribution plans, I asked on Car2GO’s Facebook page about all the cars in my neighborhood and was told by them:

We understand that our method of carsharing can take a bit to get used to.

I think they’re SPOT ON about that. People love the convenience of their cars – they even take it for granted. And it will be really difficult to ensure enough Car2go vehicles are around town to make people feel like it’s a reliable alternative.

To borrow a pun, it’s going to be a tough road for them. But that said, I wish Car2go success with the rollout in Minneapolis! Gotta start somewhere.

Note: Ed Kohler has posted some great info/insights on the Car2GO program in the comments of that Facebook post I mentioned above. Good stuff.

Note2: This is a great read about Car2Go: In depth: Daimler’s Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect

UPDATE! I changed my mind. I am now using Car2Go instead of my car!